Always be my Thunder
by Ellabee15
Summary: Felicity is recruited by SHIELD to help with an impending disaster. A life altering accident forces her to make an extremely important decision which will forever change the dynamics of Team Arrow and those of the Asgardian court.
1. Chapter 1

(A few notes on the timeline. I've moved everything in the MCU up 2 years which means the events of The Avengers takes place in 2014 instead of 2012. This story is set a few months after the end of season 2 in the Arrow timeline.)

There was a man wearing a suit and sunglasses and he was currently sitting in Felicity's chair.

"Who are you?" Oliver growled.

"How did you get in? I built that lock myself; it was supposed to be unhackable." Felicity looked at the man with a mixture of irritation and interest.

"And it probably would have been, had you had the proper materials made available to you." The man stood, pocketed his sunglasses and smiled at her. "Plus, I just hacked Tony Stark's security system a few hours ago. The world is in danger and I'm here to ask for your help."

"No offense," Oliver growled, "But I don't have a habit of helping anyone who breaks into my base."

"Well then, I guess it's a good thing I wasn't asking for your help." The man looked at him with disdain. "Fury asked specifically for Ms. Smoak." He stepped forward and held out his hand, "Phil Coulson, Agent of SHIELD."

Digg stiffened, while Oliver planted himself in front of Felicity.

"You just mentioned Tony Stark. Why would you need Felicity if you already have him?"

"No one 'has' Tony Stark." Coulson gave Oliver a tight smile that, while polite, implied his patience was wearing thin. He turned back to Felicity. "I can't force you into anything, but believe me when I say that the fate of the world is at stake."

"You want me to help you save the world. From what?"

"That's classified until you agree to help us." Coulson explained.

"Why should she trust you?" Digg asked.

"You trust ARGUS, Sergeant Diggle; at least enough to ensure the protection of your ex-wife and unborn child. SHIELD is a bit like ARGUS, except instead of terrorist plots we deal with real threats to world security. Plus we have cooler toys." He began walking towards the door of the lair. "I'll give you 5 minutes to think, but I need an answer. If you do decide to come with me, you'll have to leave immediately."

The team waited until the door closed behind Coulson before the argument began.

"I thought SHIELD was a myth." Digg said shaking his head.

"Oh they're real." Oliver growled, "And Waller hates them."

"That actually sounds like a point in their favor." Felicity said softly.

Oliver and Digg turned to look at her. "You can't seriously be considering this." Oliver gave her a look of disbelief.

"The suit did say the fate of the world hung in the balance." Roy pointed out. "But I make a point of not trusting anyone who wears sunglasses indoors."

"Don't encourage her, she's not going." Oliver rounded on him angrily.

"You're just pissed they don't want you." Roy retorted

"We can't just allow them to swoop in and take her away. They don't need her." Oliver began raising his voice.

"Is anyone going to bother to ask me what I think?" Felicity crossed her arms.

"Felicity –" Oliver sighed.

"What gives you the right to make my decisions for me?"

"It's too dangerous." Oliver growled.

"And sending me in as bait for Slade and his army of Super soldiers wasn't?" Everyone fell silent. It had been 2 months since the Slade incident, but no one liked to talk about it. She looked around the foundry. This place had been her home, but lately it had begun to feel alien. Ever since Laurel had discovered Oliver's secret she'd been showing up at random interval asking for favors. While Oliver was willing to overlook the fact that she'd tried to have him taken out by an armed SWAT team, Felicity was less forgiving. Then there was the elephant in the room. Those 3 words Oliver had said before leaving her to be captured by a super-powered psychopath. They hadn't been part of the plan and Felicity had known he wasn't lying when he'd said them, but he'd never mentioned it again.

"Felicity."' He began "there has to be someone else they can call, they don't need you."

"How long will this take?" she aimed her question at Agent Coulson who had just returned.

"A few days at most, though if we don't succeed there's likely to not be anything left to come back to." Coulson said. "Does this mean you're joining?"

"Yes."

"If anything happens to her..." Digg said

"I give you my word; I will do everything in my power to keep her safe." Coulson smiled as Felicity nodded. He turned to face the rest of Team Arrow. "I suppose it goes without saying that nothing from this little chat leaves this cave. We don't want a public panic."

"Where are we going?" Felicity asked as they made their way into a black SUV. Coulson handed her a tablet.

"I suggest you familiarize yourself with these files, you'll need to know the team you're working with before you get to the base. We have one more pick up to make before we rendezvous with the base."

"What is it you want me to do?" She asked. "I'm sure SHIELD has tons of hackers and computer specialists."

"We needed someone who could think outside the box." Coulson smiled "And Fury was impressed with your use of the SHIELD satellite during the Slade Wilson incident."

"Waller had shut down access to anything else." Felicity blushed.

"No one's ever been able to find our frequency before let alone hack it with barely a trace. We also know it was you who created that algorithm at MIT not Cooper Seldon." He gave her an encouraging pat on the shoulder. "You deserve to be here Ms. Smoak, just as much as anyone else in those files."

"Agent Coulson." The driver said. "Our ETA to the jet is 2 minutes and I just got confirmation from New York that Captain Rogers is standing by."

Felicity started. "Captain…Rogers?" she looked at Coulson in surprise. "You don't mean…"

The agent was practically bouncing in his seat with excitement. "Read the files Ms. Smoak." He grinned. "You have a lot of catching up to do."


	2. Chapter 2

She was working with Dr. Banner in the lab on the helicarrier when they brought Loki in. He was smirking and seemed completely at ease; even though he was handcuffed and surrounded by heavily armed SHIELD agents. Felicity also didn't like the way he was looking at Bruce.

"Is it just me or does he look happy to be here?" she asked Bruce. He took off his glasses and gave her the same nervous smile he'd given her whenever she talked to him.

"There's definitely something wrong with that guy." He said quietly.

"Dr. Banner that was almost a joke." She smiled. She turned back to the screens she was working with. Coulson hadn't been lying when he'd said that SHIELD had all the coolest toys. Then the man himself videoed in from the bridge, looking as though Christmas had come early.

"Did Captain Rogers sign your cards?" she asked.

"No." Coulson pouted slightly, "Fury wants everyone on the bridge. There's someone here he wants everyone to meet."

"Yes sir, Felicity out." She turned to Dr. Banner "You ready to meet the god of Thunder?"

He looked at her curiously.

"What?" She asked.

"Nothing," He began making his way to the door of the lab. Then he paused and turned. "Did SHIELD give you a file on me before you got here?"

"They gave me a file on all the information they thought I would need. Why?"

He shifted uncomfortably. "Did you read it?"

"Yes."

He looked at her incredulously. It was the most emotion he'd shown since she'd met him. She laughed.

"We…um… we should get going…to the bridge." He ruffled his hair.

As they made their way through the hall, he smiled at her. "Thank you."

"For what?" Felicity looked at him, confused.

"All day you've been treating me like a normal human being. Not like you're trying to be overly sincere or…that's why I thought you didn't know about…the other guy."

"I'd say this is the start of a beautiful friendship." Felicity linked her arm through his. "So what are you planning on doing once you get out of here?"

"Going back to Calcutta, though I was thinking on conducting research into the effects of the reactor explosion at STAR labs."

"I have connections there; maybe I could talk to them for you."

Thor watched as the two entered the bridge. The man must be Dr. Banner. The Captain had explained his condition, the young woman with him was probably the computer specialist…he had forgotten the name Son of Coul had told him. She seemed awfully young to be involved in all of this and, if the way she was fearlessly talking to Dr. Banner was any indication, either very brave or very naïve.

The feed from the cell they had imprisoned Loki in began to play on various screens and Thor turned his attention away from the two scientists to watch. The director was explaining the cage to him. Thor suppressed a feeling of anger as Fury opened the trap door underneath the box to explain how he could drop him 30 thousand feet if he wanted to. Thor knew Loki had put himself in this position, but he was still his brother, a former prince of Asgard. It was difficult to reconcile the boy he had grown up with, with the power hungry man in the cage.

"Let me know if real power wants a magazine or something." Fury walked away from the cage as video stopped.

"He really grows on you doesn't he?" Banner spoke in an attempt to lighten the mood. Only the blonde computer specialist smiled.

"He's no longer the issue." The Captain said "Thor, what's his play?"

"He has an army called the Chitauri. They're not of Asgard or any world known. He intends to use them to gain control over the earth. I suspect he has promised the Tesseract in exchange."

"An alien army?" The blonde scientist looked at Banner in shock. "Officially the weirdest work day ever. How does he plan on getting them here?"

"Another portal." Banner looked at the girl,

"That's why he kidnapped Dr. Selvig, he needed an astrophysicist." She said

"Selvig?" Thor looked at the pair in surprise. The blonde tilted her head. "Do you know him?"

"He's a friend." Thor registered the look of pity on her face before she looked down at the table.

"Loki's got him and a bunch of others under some kind of mind control." Agent Romanov said. "Including one of ours." She added quietly.

"What do they need the iridium for?" Dr. Banner muttered.

"It's a stabilizing agent." The Man of Iron had arrived with Son of Coul. "He wants a stable field which can be as wide and stay open as long as he wants." He patted Thor on the arm as he walked by, "You've got a mean swing there Point Break." Thor felt a growing irritation with this man. He had already shown great insolence when they had fought earlier, and clearly he revealed in it.

He walked over to the screens and asked for some information to be pulled up, then made a disparaging comment about the director's eye patch.

"The only unattainable thing on their take over the world shopping list is a power source to kick start the cube." He looked around. "I see that no one else did their homework, Selvig's notes, the extraction theory papers…" Thor stopped listening to their conversation. It had devolved into a bunch of scientific words that he didn't understand. Interestingly enough, the blonde seemed to follow their conversation. What was her name?

"Dr. Banner is here to track the cube." Director Fury had entered the bridge. I was hoping you might want to help."

"Maybe you should start with Loki's stick. It works like a Hydra weapon." Captain Rogers offered.

"It's powered by the cube. I want to know how it turned two of the sharpest people I know into his personal flying monkeys."

The blonde ducked her face to hide her giggle. Thor looked at Fury in confusion. Humans were so bizarre. "Monkeys, I do not understand."

"I DO!" Captain Rogers appeared strangely delighted. "I…um… I understood that reference." He looked away embarrassed while Stark rolled his eyes. The blonde…whose name he still couldn't remember gave the Captain a kind smile.

Rogers cleared his throat, embarrassed. "What I want to know is why he let us take him." The Captain looked around the table, "he's not going to be able to lead his army if he's here."

"Wait," The blonde spoke. "He LET you take him?" she looked around the table in shock.

"Fury, I didn't know it was Take Your Kid to Work Day." Stark looked at her questioningly. "Or is SHIELD running a super secret daycare service?"

The young woman ignored him. Instead she looked straight at Captain Rogers. "What happened when you captured him?"

"We got him in Germany, then Thor interrupted us on the way back. A fight broke out and then they brought him here." Agent Romanov explained as the blonde pulled out a tablet and began tapping furiously at it.

"What happened during the fight?' She was still looking at her tablet, but she directed the question at Tony.

"Well MC Hammer over there stole his brother and then challenged me to a duel. Capsicle showed up to ruin the fun with some garbage about responsibility. You weren't in any of the files Agent gave me."

"During this time where was Loki?"

"He was…" Captain Rogers looked at Thor.

"On a nearby ledge." Thor supplied

"And you'd tied him there." She said, still not looking up from her tablet.

"Well…no"

"So the three of you decided to play battle royale while the man who wants to take over the world sat back, untethered and patiently waited for you to finish your measuring contest." She swiped her hand across the screen of the tablet and every screen had the image of Loki surrendering in Stuttgart next to one of him being led through the helicarrier by SHIELD agents. "And you thought it would be a good idea to bring him here."

"What are you trying to say Ms. Smoak?" Director Fury looked at her.

"Captain Rogers is right. He's not going to lead an army from here, so why get captured?" She looked at the screen. "That's not the face of a man who's been beaten. That's the face of a man who got exactly what he wanted."

"I think you're over reacting." Stark rolled his eyes.

"This is LOKI we're talking about. He's the living embodiment of trickery." She looked over at Thor. "No offence, but in Norse Mythology he's a master manipulator and his back up plans have back up plans. He surrendered way too easily and you guys thought it would be a good idea to bring him back to the same base where all the high level agents and…" she waved her hand in the direction of Stark, Banner, and Rogers, "heroes are." She turned to look at Stark.

"You're supposed to be a genius. Are you telling me that this isn't shady to you? That a man who claims to have control of absolute power just gave up because you waved a few small missiles in his face?" Before he could retort she turned to Captain Rogers. "From a tactical stand point this move makes absolutely no sense unless it was part of a bigger plan."

Thor smiled, she almost reminded him of Sif. He was enjoying the look of indignation on Stark's face. This young woman had a clear head on her shoulders and had no problem standing up for herself.

"What are you saying Ms. Smoak?" Fury looked at her. "We're miles away from any land right now even if we wanted to land this thing. Besides there are certain people I don't trust near our secure SHIELD facilities." He threw Stark a pointed look. "Loki stays here for now."

She looked around the table. "Something tells me that's exactly what he wants." She muttered darkly.

Stark coughed. Fury shot him a look of irritation. "Ms. Smoak is here to assist Dr. Banner as well. She's one of the best computer scientists in the world. "

"So what you're saying is you're cheating on me." Stark put his hand on his heart. "That hurts Nicky." He walked over to her holding out his hand. "Tony Stark, but you already knew that."

She looked at him shyly for a woman who'd just insulted his intelligence mere moments before. "Felicity Smoak."

"Well Dr. Banner, Smoakie, shall we play mad scientist?" He led the two off the bridge. Thor watched them go.


	3. Chapter 3

Though Tony and Felicity had gotten off to a rocky start, they quickly bonded over their mutual skills with technology. Sounding off rapid fire suggestions so quickly that even Bruce had to ask them to slow down to explain. Tony bounced around the lab excited.

"The two of you need to come to Stark Tower. We've got about 20 floors of R&amp;D. We could just unleash your brains and see what happens."

Felicity blushed. "Well I'm pretty busy in Starling…"

"The last time I was in New York I broke…Harlem." Bruce looked down at the scepter, embarrassed. Felicity gave his hand an encouraging squeeze.

"I promise a stress free work environment." Tony sauntered over to the table, "plus everyone knows New York has the best pizza." He jabbed Bruce in the side with a small rod.

"Are you crazy?" The three scientists turned to see Captain Rogers walking in the lab.

"Jury's out." Tony smirked. "You really have it under control doc, if you wrote a book you could make billions."

"You could have compromised the safety of everyone on this ship." Steve was furious, then he seemed to remember Bruce. "No offense, Dr. Banner."

"It's okay, I can handle pointy things." Bruce gave Cap a small smile then turned back to scanning the scepter.

"That's not the point." Steve glared. "Stark's flagrant disregard for the rules could get us all killed."

"Don't you have somewhere to be?" Tony asked popping a blueberry in his mouth. Felicity quirked an eyebrow; she hadn't seen him take out the bag and judging from the look on his face neither had Bruce.

"Shouldn't you be working on finding the cube instead of playing poke the dragon?"

"Is that a game that was popular in the forties, because we don't play it anymore." Tony smirked. "I'm just trying to get Dr. Jekyll here to accept his Mr. Hyde. You'll notice I used a dated reference so you'd understand."

"Tony." Felicity looked up from her screens in exasperation. "Didn't you boys solve this earlier in the woods?"

"We're running scans for the cube Cap, now be a good soldier and run back to Fury." Tony turned his back on Steve and walked away. "While I figure out what's really going on here." He looked at Bruce and Felicity. "With some help, of course."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Steve frowned.

"It means, Spangles, that I trust Big Brother Nick about as much as I trust Loki." He frowned at the window over looking the cargo hold. "The timing is off. Tell him Brucie."

"I'm just…" Bruce looked uncomfortable. "I'm trying to do my work…"

"Dr. Banner?" Steve looked at him with a mixture of curiosity and concern. Bruce sighed.

"Well it seems weird that SHIELD would be working with the Tesseract, a supposedly unlimited power source, and not recruit the best mind in alternative energy technology." He mumbled.

"Smoakie," Tony turned to Felicity, "you were quick to cry conspiracy earlier. Your thoughts on the Doctor's hypothesis?"

"If Fury hid the Tesseract project until now it means he had an ulterior motive." Felicity agreed.

"The geniuses are in agreement." Tony grinned. "And in a few hours when I decrypt SHIELD's files I'll have the proof to back us up." He popped another blueberry. "Don't you just love science?"

"Wait decrypt SHIELD's files?" Felicity asked.

"I put a bug on the bridge. JARVIS is working on it." Tony leveled a smirk at Cap's irritated huff. "If we need a refresher course in righteousness and patriotism we'll call." He made a dismissive motion towards the door.

As Steve left, Felicity met his eyes and mouthed "sorry." He gave her a small thoughtful smile then left.

"You said it would take hours for your AI to crack the files?"

"Yeah, why?"

Felicity chuckled and turned back to the screens. After a few minutes she'd come up with a screen full of classified information. "How about a few minutes?" Bruce and Tony rushed to look over her shoulder.

"That's it." Tony grinned. "I'm keeping you."

"That may be the most skill I've ever seen anyone handle a computer with." Bruce said shyly.

"Hey!" Tony looked at him indignantly.

"I met her first, and frankly she's nicer to look at." Bruce smiled. "Plus she doesn't poke me with sharp things.

With their attention focused on the screen, no one noticed the way the power receptacle in the scepter glowed brighter when Felicity laughed at Tony's irate sputtering.

"Thor we need you in the science lab." Thor turned to face Director Fury

"Why what has happened?"

"Romanov just got Loki to admit wanted to unleash the Hulk." Fury began making his way towards the lab.

"So it would seem that the Lady Smoak's analysis of the situation was correct." Thor said as he followed Fury to the lab.

"Well however right she may be, she just helped Stark hack into the SHIELD database." Fury fumed as he opened the lab door. "Just what do you think you're doing?"

Thor followed him into the lab. Stark was sitting on the table pointing at various images on a screen while Dr. Banner and the Lady Smoak made suggestions.

"Science." Stark said. "It's the pursuit of knowledge the uncovering of things previously hidden, discovery. You ask questions like "What is phase 2?"

Fury looked momentarily shocked, then annoyed. "I expected this from Stark, but not from you Ms. Smoak."

"Stop dodging the question." Tony turned to Bruce. "See? Misdirect the conversation through adversarial tactics. How to be a Spy 101." He turned back to Fury. "Last chance Nicky, What's phase 2."

"Phase 2 is SHIELD using the Tesseract to create specialized weapons." Captain Rogers had just arrived and he was holding what appeared to be a specialized gun in his hands. "I figured you might want some physical evidence and your computer was too slow for me."

"My computer maybe," Stark glared at Rogers, "But Ms. Smoak is faster than any machine."

Felicity came to stand in front of Fury.

"I signed on to protect the world. Not help you regain the means to destroy it."

"Don't be ridiculous Ms. Smoak, that was just potential prototype and – "

"Eh hem." Tony cleared his throat. "If I might direct your attention to the screen, grenades, machine guns and rockets oh my." He frowned at Fury as the incriminating blueprints scrolled on the screen. "But go ahead. Please explain to us how this was a side project that was going nowhere."

"Why would you even think of doing something like this?" Felicity asked. Fury took an angry breath and to Thor's surprise pointed at him.

"Because of him."

"Me? What did I do?"

"Last year an entire town was leveled by 4 Asgardians and one of their rogue robots. It proved to us that the Earth is painfully unprepared for outside attack."

Thor felt a rush of anger. "My people want nothing but peace with yours."

"And that would be great if you were the only ones out there." Fury turned on him, "Except you aren't. And now your brother is leading them right to our doorstep."

"The only reason the Chitauri agreed to aid my brother is because of the Tesseract." Thor retorted.

"Experimenting with the Tesseract must have tipped them off that it was here." Felicity added. "It's been frozen for 70 years, it's no coincidence that they managed to locate it the second you took it out and began playing with it."

"The Lady Smoak is correct." Thor was once again impressed by the young computer technician's sharp mind and the unflinching way she spoke her mind; even to those who were clearly more powerful than her. He came to stand beside her. "By toying with the Tesseract you have sent a message to all the other realms that Midgard is ready for a higher form of war."

At that moment Agent Romanov entered the lab. "Dr. Banner." She said, "Maybe you should remove yourself to a less stressful environment."

"Where? You rented my room." Banner seemed more agitated than Thor had ever seen him. He took a cautious step forward, placing himself between Felicity and Dr. Banner. It was a tactical move, he told himself. Of all the people in the room Felicity had no discernible enhancements, weapons, or battle training. If Banner were to lose control she would be the most vulnerable. She seemed to understand his intention and frowned at him. Thor raised an eyebrow, he wasn't looking for praise, but her reaction confused him.

"I think Bruce has every right to be here." Felicity said, "We're all being used."

"Don't lecture me about morality Ms. Smoak." Fury turned his one good eye on her. "You may be the best in your field, but that doesn't excuse the questionable company you keep. Such as the League of Assassins and the Arrow."

Felicity closed her eyes and took a steadying breath. "This is exactly what Loki wants. He wants us angry, divided and at each other's throats. He's managed to spread chaos and he's not even here." She looked defiantly around the room. "Yes I work for the Arrow, and yes the League of Assassins helped us take down a Superpowered psychopath who wanted and nearly managed to destroy an entire city."

Silence fell.

"So those are my cards. Who's folding next?"

"This isn't a team." Dr. Banner said, quietly. "It's a chemical mixture ready to explode."

"Dr. Banner." Romanov tried again, but Banner just let out a cold humorless laugh.

"The great part is that you thought that trap would work. Let me guess you built it in case you needed to kill me, but you can't." He looked pained. "Believe me, I've tried. I got low and decided to end it. I put a bullet in my mouth…and the other guy just…spat it out." He was shaking and he'd grabbed on to Loki's scepter. Captain Rogers was squaring his shoulders as if preparing for a fight. Both Fury and Romanov were reaching for their weapons. Thor planted himself more firmly in front of Felicity.

"Dr. Banner." Rogers said. "Put down the spear."

Banner looked down at his hand, confused. He appeared to not remember having grabbed the spear. Then one of the machines made a beeping noise.

"Show's over." He muttered as he walked over to the screen. Then an explosion rocked the Helicarrier.

Thor found himself on the floor of the lab. There was a giant hole in the floor. Fury, Rogers and Stark were on the ground. They quickly scrambled to their feet; Tony muttering something about getting his suit. Fury swept out of the lab barking orders into his ear piece. There was no sign of Romanov, Dr. Banner or Felicity. Thor looked around him in panic. Then he saw a small figure stirring under some broken equipment in the corner of the room.

"Lady Smoak?" He began digging her out.

"I'm fine." She sat up and began brushing dust off her clothes. "I am really not dressed for this. I should have learned by now that crazy villains don't base their attack patterns on the functionality of my outfits."

"Did you injure your head?" Thor looked at her in concern.

"No, rambling is good, rambling means I'm operating normally." She smiled, then they heard roars and crashing sounds. "Bruce." She murmured.

"Not anymore." Thor looked at the hole in the lab floor. When he turned back Felicity was on her feet. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to see if I can help. I'm no good lying on the floor." She looked at the cargo hold. "You're needed there. You're the only one who has a chance against the Hulk." She gave him a small smile. "Just don't hit him too hard, he may not know it, but he's still Bruce Banner. Just more…green." Then she left the lab. Thor looked at the door bemused, then a roar from the cargo hold snapped him back into focus. He needed to calm Banner, then he'd deal with Loki


	4. Chapter 4

Felicity ran out of the lab and almost knocked over Phil Coulson.

"This is Loki's escape plan." Coulson said. "I'm going to make sure that it fails."

"Then I'm coming with." Felicity said. Coulson nodded and lead her to the armory. He pulled out a big gun and smiled.

"What does that do?"

"No idea." He grinned. "Want to test it out?"

They rushed to the room where Loki's cage was housed just in time to see Thor entering it.

"Okay, I'm going in to give Thor back up." Coulson handed his side arm to Felicity. "Wait out here and if anyone tries to shoot you, shoot first."

"But I can't…" she sighed at the door Coulson had just closed. "I've never actually used one of these before," she muttered. She looked at the hall she was standing in. there was no safe place to hide if someone came to attack. She then saw a group of armed agents round the corner and they definitely didn't look friendly. She quickly rushed inside the door…just in time to see Coulson speared by Loki on his staff.

"No" she shouted.

Thor cursed himself for falling for the same trick Loki had pulled on him since they were children. He always rushed into things without thinking and yet again Loki had outsmarted him. He could only watch helplessly as Loki stabbed Son of Coul in the chest.

"No." a horrified voice cried. Thor turned to see Felicity standing at the door, clutching a small handgun. "Phil."

Loki looked at her with interest. "Oh now this is delicious." He stepped forward. "Arent you a pretty one?" Felicity swung her weapon at Loki, but he grabbed her arm. "Feisty too, I like that in a woman."

"Let her go." Thor slammed Mjolnir against the glass. There was a crack, but it wasn't enough.

"I don't think so, brother." Loki sneered. "I think I'll keep this one. After all; every king needs a queen." Felicity stamped on his toe and tried to make for the controls of the cage, but was quickly snatched back by Loki. "Though considering the level of disobedience she's showing, I might only keep her as a concubine."

A blast knocked both Loki and Felicity to the ground.

"So that's what it does." Coulson said weakly. Felicity scrambled to her feet. "Phil." She murmured. "I'll go get help."

"Sergeant Diggle is going to kill me." Coulson said.

Loki gripped Felicity by the hair. "Goodbye, brother." He hit the eject button. The last thing Thor saw before the cage began his descent was Felicity's tear stained, horrified expression.

Loki had to bodily drag Felicity to the escape jet. She fought him at every turn.

"You insolent little girl." he hissed when he got her on the jet.

"If I'm so much of a problem you should just kill me or compel me?" she shot back.

"Now there's an interesting thought." He gave her a grin that reminded her of the Cheshire cat, but not the whimsical animated one that she had always loved as a child; the creepy blue Tim Burton version. Loki's expression changed to one of annoyed confusion.

"I do not see any connection between myself and a cat." He said. "And if you don't be quiet I will compel you." He waved the scepter in front of her. Felicity's eyes grew wide as its blue glow intensified.

"Well good luck with that. Shutting me up I mean, I'm sure you're perfectly capable of zapping me with your disco stick…Why does my brain always betray me? I mean if I was going to make awkward innuendoes it should be about Oliver or Captain Rogers, he's cute, or your brother he's –"

At the mention of Thor, Loki's eyes blazed with rage. "Wrong thing to say, foolish mortal." He slowly brought the tip of the scepter, still coated with Coulson's blood, to her chest. It began to glow, and the gold grew red and began to steam. Loki yelped in pain and dropped it. "What?" He looked at the burn on his hand then at Felicity. "What are you?"

"I don't know what you mean." Felicity looked at the scepter in confusion.

"It matters not." Loki gingerly picked up the scepter. "We are here and I will have plenty of time to deal with this…after I gain my kingdom." He tossed her to one of his compelled SHIELD agents. "Tie her up, then prepare for the invasion."

Felicity found herself tied on the floor of an enormous pent house looking out at the New York sky line.

"This is not how I envisioned my first visit to Stark Tower."


	5. Chapter 5

Tied on the floor of the pent house Felicity struggled against her restraints. Loki had gone outside to look over "his future prize."

"JARVIS?" she hissed, hoping Loki wouldn't hear her. "Please tell me you're there…in the ceiling or the walls."

"Indeed Ms. Smoak." The AI replied. "Mr. Stark will be arriving soon and it is my understanding that Agent Barton has regained his senses and will join Agent Romanov and Captain Rogers when they arrive."

"What about Thor?" Felicity asked. "Did you get any news on him or Dr. Banner…" she paused. "Or Phil?"

The AI was silent.

"JARVIS, I'm being held captive by a crazed demi god who wants to take over the world. There's no need to spare my feelings."

"There have been no reports on Thor or Dr. Banner since both of them fell off the helicarrier…Agent Coulson is – "

At that moment Tony arrived. He walked in proud and confident, but recoiled when he saw Felicity bound on the ground. Frowning at Loki he walked over to the bar.

"Please tell me you've come to appeal to my humanity." Loki sneered.

"I won't bother, seeing as you have none. I'm here to threaten you,"

Loki chuckled. "You Midgardians all suffer from delusions of grandeur. You think yourselves unbeatable when truly you are just sheep waiting for the wolves to descend."

Tony was fixing himself a drink at the bar. "You really enjoy those metaphors don't you? Drink?" he held up a glass. Loki looked at him in disdain. "Suit yourself, I'm having one. Smoakie?" He looked over at Felicity. His expression lost its carefree, bravado. It held a clear question; did he hurt you? Felicity shook her head.

"So far, this threatening of yours has been unavailing. You're wasting your time Iron Man." Loki walked over to the windows. "The Chitauri are coming."

"I'm just getting warmed up buddy." Tony growled, walking over near Felicity he dropped a device near her feet. Loki had his back turned and he didn't notice. "And what kind of a way to treat a Lady?"

Loki snorted. "She's no Lady, she's mine to do with as I please."

"Your brother seems to disagree." Tony took a drink from his glass. "He calls her Lady Smoak, it's kind of adorable. And when he shows up he's going to be pissed."

"My brother is most likely dead. Your heroes are scattered. You have no one to turn, explain to me how threatening works on Midgard? What have I to fear?"

"The Avengers." Tony turned to Felicity. "I didn't come up with the name, but it seems fitting. It has flair and drama."

"The Avengers." Loki scoffed.

"Earth's Mightest Heroes…or whatever, let's take roll call shall we?" As Tony began rattling off the various skills and strengths of the team, Felicity used her feet to bring the object he'd dropped closer. It was a Swiss army knife and a comm link; rolling so she was on top of it, she began trying to cut herself loose. She turned her attention back to the two men in front of her.

"How will your friends have time for me." Loki said as he stepped forward, "When they'll be so busy fighting you." He pointed the scepter at the center of Tony's chest. Nothing happened. Felicity could hear the clink of metal hitting metal as the scepter poked Tony's Arc reactor.

Loki looked at the scepter, "what is wrong with this thing today?"

"Well, performance issues…not uncommon." Tony smirked. "One in five– "

Loki turned towards Felicity. "You're doing this." He growled. "You forced the scepter to burn me and now you're blocking me from using its power."

"Um what?" Tony asked. Then he panicked as Loki began walking towards Felicity. "JARVIS, now would be a good time." Just before Loki managed to reach Felicity, Tony's iron suit flew out of a charging station in the wall and knocked him over. Tony held out his arms and the suit began building itself around two bracelets on his wrists. Tony flew forward and grabbed Loki. "Let's take this outside, the carpet is new." He tossed Loki on the outside walk way, "That's for threatening my science partner." He held out his arm with a small missile attached, "And this is for Phil Coulson."

Just as he was about to shoot, there was a loud boom from the roof; the portal had been opened.

Starling City

Ever since Felicity had left with the SHIELD agent Roy had been using her computers to monitor world news.

"You know she's going to kill you when she comes back." Diggle said. "That cup of coffee is dangerously close to her babies."

"What she doesn't know won't make her use her loud voice." Roy said. "Besides I'm trying to see what world ending apocalypse she was called away to stop. I want to know where it's happening so I can hide."

"Where are you planning on hiding exactly?" Digg said, amused.

"Oliver's bunker."

"Oliver's what now?"

"His bunker. All rich people have one in case of nuclear attack." Roy explained.

"You do realize the cold war ended, right?" Digg shook his head. "I bet you 3 meals at Big Belly Burger that he doesn't have one." He looked over Roy's shoulder. "Anything out of the ordinary?"

"Just some weird lightning storm in the middle of a field in Pennsylvania,and a weirdo with a cape and a glowstick in Stuttgart." Roy pulled up the video. "But some guy in an American flag costume took him out."

"Is that..?" Digg looked at the screen in shock. "That's Captain America."

"I know I didn't do well in history class." Roy said, "But even I know that Captain America died during World War 2."

"Just play the damn video." Digg grumbled. They watched the video. "That's definitely Cap." Digg said.

"He does move too fast to be a normal human." Roy admitted, "but so did I when I had the Mirakuru in my system."

"The Mirakuru was the Japanese knock off of the Captain America serum." Digg insisted. "Look at the way he fights, he's controlled, precise, not angry and full of unbridled rage. That's Steve Rogers."

"The guy's been dead for 70 years." Roy retorted. "Explain that."

"What are you boys fighting about?" Laurel and Oliver had come down the stairs.

"Digg's man crush on Captain America has reached new levels of ridiculous." Roy said, turning back to the video. "oooh look Iron Man."

"Yeah, I'm the ridiculous one." Digg shook his head. "If that's the big danger Felicity was sent to stop, then crisis averted."

"What are you guys talking about?" Laurel asked.

"Felicity had to go save the world." Roy said. "Our girl's going places."

"What could she do to stop an apocalypse?" Laurel snorted.

"Well for starters, she could hack your birth records and have you deported." Roy glared at Laurel.

"I'm just saying that googleling things isn't the same as beating up bad guys." Laurel frowned.

"Well then it's a good thing that she does more than just Google things." Roy stood up.

"Settle down Roy." Oliver said.

"Are you seriously going to just stand there and let her talk about Felicity that way?" Roy turned to look at Oliver in shock.

"Guys." Digg said quietly. "I think I may have found the crisis Felicity was called on to avert."

They all turned to look at the computer screen where a breaking news bulletin was displaying the words. ALIENS DROP OUT OF THE SKY ONTO MANHATTAN.

"We need to go to New York." Oliver said.

Stark Tower

Tony had blasted off to try and stop the incoming aliens while Loki stood outside admiring the beginning of the invasion.

"Loki, turn off the Tesseract or I'll destroy it." Thor had arrived and he'd…changed his outfit? Felicity looked at him in confusion, then continued to try to saw the ropes binding her wrists.

"It's too late brother. Nothing can stop me now." Loki's eyes blazed with barely controlled madness.

Thor jumped up to the roof to try to disable the portal, but seconds later was blasted off; falling to the walkway.

"Your friend Selvig created quite the energy barrier." Loki taunted. "Not even you can disable it."

Felicity had managed to cut through one of the layers of rope binding her wrists. The ropes loosened.

"Stop this madness brother." Thor was trying to appeal to Loki as they thought. "Look around you. You want to rule the earth, but all you will accomplish today is to destroy it."

Felicity couldn't see Loki's reaction to Thor's words; his back was to her. What she could see was him reaching into his pocket to pull out a dagger.

"Look out." She shouted. Thor looked down, but didn't move fast enough. Loki pierced his side with the blade and tossed Thor to the ground.

"This one is pretty, but not worth the trouble to keep." Loki growled as he walked towards Felicity. Thor tossed Mjolnir and knocked Loki over before he could get too close. Loki dropped his scepter. Thor stood and grabbed the dagger out of his side. Then he stepped in front of Felicity. Loki took one look at the two of them then jumped off the side of the building; landing on a passing Chitauri sky cycle.

"Are you unhurt Lady Smoak?" Thor asked as he summoned Mjolnir to his hand.

"Yeah, just a little tied up here." Felicity said as she tried to cut through the last of her bindings.

"Allow me." Thor grabbed the ropes on her legs and snapped them off.

"Wow you are really strong." Felicity murmured.

Thor grimaced. "So they tell me."

"He stabbed you." She reached to inspect, but Thor grabbed her hand. "You must get to safety Lady Smoak. I will heal and must fight, but I will not have you harmed because of my brother's actions."

"If no one does anything there'll be no more safe places left." Felicity smiled. "You go hammer some bad guys, I'm going to try and close the portal."

"But – "

"GO" Felicity pushed him. "And Thor, please call me Felicity."

He grinned. "It would be my pleasure Lady Felicity." Then he flew out of the building to meet up with the other Avengers.

"I guess that's almost progress." Felicity muttered. She was about to make her way to the roof when the glow of Loki's scepter caught her eye. As she began walking towards it, the glow intensified. "What the hell?" she muttered. "I really don't have time for this weirdness." She turned and ran up to the roof to see if she could shut down the portal.


	6. Chapter 6

Felicity rushed to the roof. All around her she could see explosions as Chitauri soldiers attacked the various buildings in New York.

"Why is this tower so tall?' she muttered. She could see Dr. Selvig lying on the ground next to the machine powering the portal.

"Dr. Selvig." She said, rushing to him. He slowly blinked and put a hand to his head.

"The tesseract." He murmured.

"Do you know how to shut it off?" she asked.

"No, I mean…" he looked around confused. Then horror dawned on his face as he took in the destruction around him.

"What have I done." he tried to stand, but Felicity gripped his arm.

"This isn't your fault, you were being controlled by Loki." She looked at the Tesseract. "You need to tell me how to shut it off. "

"The scepter." He murmured. "The force field was meant to protect against threats, but it wouldn't see itself as a threat."

"The scepter." Felicity murmured. "Okay I'll…go get it." she turned and went back to the penthouse. Just as she entered, Loki and Hulk crashed into the room. Hulk picked Loki up like a ragdoll and began tossing him around and smashing him into the ground.

"Puny god." He muttered and turned to Felicity.

"NICE LADY!" He rushed over to her and gave her a hug. "Stars said Loki tried to hurt Nice Lady. Make Hulk angry."

"I'm okay Hulk." Felicity gasped. "But you're crushing me."

"Hulk sorry." Hulk put her down and gently patted her on the head. "Stay safe Nice Lady."

Felicity gave a watery smile at Hulk's affectionate grin. He was so sweet, how could anyone want to hurt him or lock him up. "I will big guy. Now go smash."

With one last roar at Loki, Hulk jumped out of the Tower and grabbed onto one of the passing Chitauri skycycles.

Felicity turned and walked over to the scepter. The glow began intensifying; by the time she was next to it, it was blinding. "Here goes nothing." She muttered as she reached down and gripped it. The glowing went back to normal. "Well that was anticlimactic."

"Smoakie, you there?" Tony called over the comms.

"Yeah, I'm at the Tower and I may have found a way to close the portal."

"Good." There was a stream of muffled curses, then Tony's irritated voice came back over the comm. "We're going to have to hold off on that closing the portal thing. There's a nuclear missile heading towards the city."

"What do you want me to do?" Felicity had just made it to the roof.

"Wait until I tell you, then close the portal."

"Got it." she stood next to the Tesseract. She watched in horror as Iron Man grabbed hold of the missile and began forcing it towards the portal. Then a Chitauri soldier appeared and made a grab for her. She spun and hit him with the scepter. He fell off the side of the Tower, but was quickly replaced by two other soldiers. They were both holding staffs. One pointed one at her. She ducked as he blasted her. The beam missed and hit the energy field surrounding the Tesseract. Felicity was thrown forward, the impact of the blast caused one of her hands to hit the orb in the scepter which held the power siphoned from the Tesseract. There was a flash of blue light and a rush of heat. Felicity's hands began to glow. The light in the scepter went out. She stood. One of the remaining Chitauri soldiers came to attack her. she held her hands up and a bolt of pure energy pushed him over the edge.

"SMOAK." Tony shouted over the comms. "Close….Portal…NOW"

She looked up to see him entering the void with the missile. She looked at the Tesseract. "The scepter's broken, what am I supposed to do?"

"Can't protect against itself." Selvig murmured, his earlier head injury was making him incoherent.

Felicity looked down at her hands. Then she looked at the Tesseract. She walked forward and held up one of her hands. She grabbed hold of the Tesseract and pulled it from the machine. The portal began closing. Just before it was gone Tony began falling through. He was caught by Hulk, but Felicity saw none of it. The second she'd touched the Tesseract there was a second rush of heat, more painful than the first. She was encased in a blue orb, There was nothing but the beautiful vibrating blue light of the Tesseract.

Down on the street Thor and the rest of the Avengers looked up at the strange blue light shining at the top of the Tower.

"What is that?" Natasha asked.

"It looks like the Tesseract got bigger." Clint frowned. "Is that possible?"

"Smoakie said she found a way to shut off the machine." Tony said weakly.

Thor looked at him in alarm.

"Lady Felicity is up there?" He gripped his hammer and took off. Landing on the top of the tower he looked around. There was a strange blue cocoon and Eric Selvig was sitting on the ground, but there was no sign of Felicity.

"FELICITY?" he called. Then he took a step towards the cocoon. There appeared to be a person inside. As he got closer, he realized it was Felicity. She was floating with her eyes closed. In her hand she held the Tesseract. Thor reached his hand out. The second his fingers made contact with the side of the cocoon the light intensified. Felicity's eyes flew open. She screamed and began convulsing. The light faded and she began slowly floating down. Thor caught her before she hit the ground. Her eyes were closed; she was unconscious. A faint blue light still surrounded her body.

"Oh my lady," Thor murmured as he held her. "What has happened to you?"


	7. Chapter 7

"WHERE IS SHE?"

Felicity heard an angry voice. She had been floating and everything was warm and beautiful. The blue had encased her and kept her safe. But the angry voice dragged her away. A pounding began in her head. Her entire body felt heavy. Her eyelids felt as though they had been turned to stone and refused to open.

"Look Hood guy, just because we let you in here doesn't mean you get to make demands. This is our tower."

"Point of order, Hawkeye; it's my tower, you are all here as a result of my benevolence."

"Tony, these are Felicity's friends. Maybe we should…"

"Brucie, I'd have a better time taking you seriously if I hadn't seen your green counterpart in his natural state. We need to get you better pants. Shawarma?"

"How can you think of feasting at a time like this?" This voice sounded a lot closer than the others. "The Lady Felicity is perhaps on the brink of death and all you do is engage in your petty squabbles and eat."

"How about you get away from her." there was a blast and crashing noise.

"Yup, that pretty much happens every time someone except Thor gets close to her. Sorry Queenie."

Felicity groaned. "Oooliverrr" she slowly opened her eyes. She was back in the penthouse of stark tower; being cradled against a broad chest. She slowly looked up.

"My lady." Thor said quietly. "Are you unharmed?"

"Everything hurts." She put her hand to her head. "I heard Oliver."

"I'm here." She turned to see Oliver getting up from a hole in the wall.

"The Chitauri, the portal." She turned to Thor in horror. "The missile. We need to stop it."

"We're all safe my Lady." Thor smiled and stroked a hand through her hair. "You saved us all."

"Hey, I flew the missile into the portal." Tony grumbled from one of the couches. "I get some of the credit."

"We won?" Felicity looked around her in confusion.

"The battle was yesterday Ms. Smoak." Nicky Fury was standing in the corner. "You've been asleep since then."

Felicity looked around. The other Avengers were sitting in their civilian clothes. With them were Oliver, Digg, who was staring at Steve with a look of admiration, Roy and – "

"Sara!"

"Hey cutie." Sara was grinning from ear to ear. She walked forward and hugged Felicity. "Roy called me when he found out the sky was falling. I came as fast as I could. Although…" she gave Thor an appreciative look. "It looks like you did alright for yourself."

"How come Sara gets to hug her and I can't get within 5 feet?" Oliver grumbled.

"What do you mean?" Felicity attempted to stand, but immediately felt dizzy. Thor and Sara rushed to steady her.

"When Oliver got close to you a blue light threw him back." Roy explained.

"Blue light?" Felicity frowned in confusion. "Just like the Chitauri…"

"My lady." Thor murmured. "What happened on the roof? Dr. Selvig was unconscious and couldn't tell us much."

"Is he okay?" Felicity looked around, but couldn't see him.

"There's a group of SHIELD doctors checking him over right now." Fury came and sat across from the couch where she was sitting. "We need to know exactly what happened when you tried to close the portal."

"Dr. Selvig told me that I needed the scepter." Felicity began slowly. "I brought it up to the roof….then Chitauri soldiers attacked. I…one of them tried to shoot me but missed and hit the energy field surrounding the Tesseract. I guess I was thrown to the ground by the impact, then…" she stopped.

"Then what, Ms. Smoak." Fury looked at her with interest.

"When I hit the ground I…my hand hit the power receptacle of the scepter. I…think I absorbed the energy. My hands." She looked at them. "They were glowing…blue." She began shaking.

"When I found you, you were holding the Tesseract." Thor said slowly.

"I…I picked it up. It was the only way to close the portal. I…I don't know what happened after."

"It is alright Lady Felicity." Thor said. "You are safe now."

"She tossed a vigilante, two trained assassins, and a super-soldier across the room while she was unconscious." Fury said. "Not to mention that when the Hulk stood in the blast radius he morphed back into Dr. Banner."

"I'm okay with that." Bruce murmured.

"She is most definitely NOT alright." Fury continued through gritted teeth. "The Tesseract has never reacted to anyone during our tests. We could barely figure out how to get it to power weapons, let alone people."

"That's why you want to know so badly." Steve growled. "You still want to use it to create super weapons. Except this time, you want to use people."

Fury raised an eyebrow. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't becoming a human weapon save you from an icy death?"

"But there's too much of a risk of something going wrong." Steve retorted. "Look at Red Skull."

"Mirakuru." Roy murmured. Everyone turned to look at him.

"Mira whatnow?" Tony said

"During WWII the Japanese experimented to create a super serum so they could have an answer to Captain America." Oliver explained.

"I've never heard anything about this." Tony crossed his arms.

"That's because the tests were so unsuccessful. Most of the test subjects died. Those that didn't…" Sara looked over at Roy before continuing her explanation. "Those that made it suffered from horrendous physical or mental distortions."

"Playing god is what created the Other Guy." Bruce added. "What ever happened to Felicity, shouldn't be duplicated, either accidently or on purpose."

"Then what are we supposed to do with the Tesseract?" Fury glared at Bruce.

"Nothing." Thor said firmly. "The Tesseract is coming back with me to Asgard, as is Loki." He stood, and gave a sweeping glance around the room as if daring anyone to contradict him. "There is however, one other problem." He turned to Felicity. "It is too dangerous for you to remain on Midgard."

"What's Midgard?" Roy whispered to Digg.

"SHIELD's experiments with the Tesseract drew the Chitauri to your planet." Thor said, "As you have absorbed a large portion of its energy, you could potentially endanger your world in the same way."

"Then I'll just put the energy back in the Tesseract." Felicity frowned. Thor shook his head.

"It is a source of unlimited power, my lady. It has already replaced the energy you removed from it."

"I ran some scans while you were sleeping." Bruce explained. "We had to use one of Tony's lab robots because you let off a large energy discharge anytime anyone got near you. The Tesseract has…I've never seen a bioscan like this before."

"I don't think the weirdness has to do with the Tesseract." Tony said. "I think Smoakie had abnormal DNA to begin with."

Oliver glared at Tony, "There wasn't anything wrong with Felicity before she met any of you."

"Don't get your green panties in a twist." Tony shook his head. "Is he always such a drama queen?" he turned back to Felicity. "It's something Loki said earlier. He tried to zap me and when it didn't work he blame it on you. He said you made his stick burn him or something."

"I didn't." Felicity said, "I mean…he tried to use it to compel me and it heated up and burned him."

Thor looked at her in alarm. "Loki is one of the Jotun." He sighed at everyone's confused looks. "A frost giant; it must have been extremely hot in order to cause him pain. Usually frost giants can handle heated objects."

"What are you guys trying to say?" Felicity looked around the room.

"That amount of energy should have killed you." Bruce said quietly.

"You survived obscene levels of gamma radiation." Felicity retorted.

"That was different. We have no means of even measuring the amount of power you absorbed." Bruce looked at her sadly. "There's something else." He activated one of the screens and pulled up his scan results. "There's no way to remove it. It fused with your…DNA."

"So it altered it."

"No." Bruce looked at her. "It just melded with it."

"Are you saying I'm an alien?" Felicity felt tears enter her eyes.

"I'm saying that I'm not sure what you are." Bruce looked at the ground. "Or how to fix this."

Felicity tried fighting the urge to cry. She held her hand to her mouth and began dry sobbing. Oliver rushed to her.

"I'm sure there's a way to – " he never finished his sentence. Felicity began glowing blue and another energy discharge threw him and everyone else backwards.

"Thar she blows." Tony muttered as he picked himself off the ground. "Nice work Queen."

Thor stood up and walked toward Felicity. Putting his hands on her shoulders he looked into her eyes. "My lady you need to calm down. The power inside of you is controlled by your emotions." Another blast pushed him back and he hit his head on the bar. Standing, he glared at Clint who laughing at him from behind a chair.

"Now you know how the rest of us feel." Clint smirked.

"This is not the time to jest." Thor growled.

"We've been tossed around this room like a bunch of leaves stuck in a tornado while you got to cuddle sleeping beauty." Clint's smirk widened. "So excuse me if I happen to enjoy a little payback."

The room began to shake. The glow around Felicity intensified until even Thor had to shield his eyes

"I can't shut it off." Felicity began panicking. She could feel the power of the Tesseract flowing through her veins. "It won't stop."

"Felicity." Bruce said. "Breathe. Close your eyes and concentrate on it. Inhale and count to five as you exhale slowly."

She did as he said. It was difficult at first, but she felt the power inside her fade. But it was still there; waiting. She looked around the room at the others. If the penthouse had been damaged by the Chitauri attack, it was nothing compared to what it looked like now. Pieces of the walls had fallen and there was no glass in any of the remaining windows.

"I'm sorry." She said

"Hey Smoakie no worries." Tony rushed over and put his arm around her shoulder. "I was planning on redecorating anyway. No one blames you."

"I'm capable of taking out entire city blocks when I have a bad day." Bruce said gently. "This is tame."

"I see what you mean." Fury said to Thor. "If she doesn't learn to control that energy, we might as well put a giant neon sign on the moon begging to be invaded."

Sara glared at him. "Why do I get the feeling that your idea of a solution involves either a locked vault or a shallow grave?"

"That would be impossible." Fury looked at Felicity. "No prison could hold her, and the power inside her instinctively protects her from threats."

"But you considered those options." Oliver growled. "Felicity is coming home to Starling; where she belongs."

"She's too dangerous to be left unmonitored." Fury rounded on him. "you thought what Slade Wilson did to Starling was bad? Look outside. All this destruction to get the Tesseract. Imagine what will happen to Ms. Smoak if an invading army took her."

"If you think I'd let some one take her – "

"How exactly do you plan on preventing them?" Fury cut Oliver off. "They'll be armed with technology the likes of which Mr. Stark can't even fathom and you'll have what…your quiver."

"To be fair." Clint held up his hand in protest. "I took out a ton of the aliens with my quiver…but you'd definitely be doomed."

"We don't have the option of courtesy Mr. Queen." Fury glared. "Ms. Smoak is going to be taken into SHIELD custody for her own protection and that of the rest of the world."

"Like hell." Roy growled. He, Sara, Digg and Oliver all turned to face Fury.

"If you want her, you're going to have to go through us." Oliver crossed his arms.

"I agree with Queen." Steve stood. "Felicity shouldn't have to be caged because of an accident." The other Avengers moved to stand with him

"What other options do we have?" Fury looked around the room in exasperation.

"There is one other option." Thor murmured quietly. Everyone turned to look at him. "The Lady Smoak could come to Asgard with me."

Everyone stared at him in shocked silence.

"You think kidnapping her and taking her to middle earth or whether Medieval times world you popped out of is the solution?" Oliver gave a sarcastic laugh.

"You really don't know who you're talking to, do you?" Natasha gave Oliver a pitying look.

"A Viking LRPer?" Oliver eyed Thor with obvious dislike.

Thor ignored him and turned to Felicity. "I will not force you to come with me. However on Asgard you would be safe. We have the strength and the numbers to protect you. Our healers are versed in dealing with injuries of a magical nature. In addition my mother is one of the most powerful sorceresses in our kingdom. She could teach you to control your new abilities. In time, you could learn to wield your power as simply as the Man of Iron controls the power in his suit."

"You won't lock me up?" Felicity asked. "I don't want to be kept in a cage."

"I give you my word as the prince of Asgard, son of Odin the Allfather, that no harm will come to you if you choose to come with me." Thor knelt in front of her.

Felicity looked around her. Then she nodded.

"NO." Oliver looked at her in pain. "You can't."

"Oliver I can't stay. If I do I put the whole world in danger." She began saying.

"I don't want you to go." Oliver said softly. "I've already lost…my mom, Tommy, Shado, and Thea's not answering any of my calls."

"That's not fair." Felicity cried. "You can't use them to try and guilt me into staying. If I had a choice- "

"But you do." Oliver pleaded. "Please."

Digg put his hand on Oliver's shoulder. "She really doesn't man." He walked past Oliver and hugged her. Felicity cried into his neck.

"You'll keep her safe?" Sara asked Thor as she put a steadying hand on Felicity's back. "Because if anything bad happens to her, you'll have me to deal with. I've never killed a god before, but for her I just might."

"That goes for me too." Roy added.

Thor nodded. "The two of you have my word."

"Can I have some time to get my stuff?" As Felicity asked the question she noticed her hands glowing blue.

"Not again." Clint muttered as he jumped to hide behind the bar.

"I guess that answers my question." Felicity looked at the ground. Thor stood and offered her his hand.

"We will leave as soon as I collect Loki and the Tesseract." He looked at her sadly. "I am truly sorry for the part my family had to play in this, my lady."

Felicity ignored his hand and stood. She wrapped her arms around her stomach as if trying to contain the energy inside. "I have to make a call first…someone…someone needs to tell my mom."

Thor nodded. "Of course my lady."

Felicity's expression changed into a small pained smile. Then she turned to Tony. "You have a phone I can use, right?"


	8. Chapter 8

Thor looked down at the small woman standing next to him. She was staring blankly ahead, but he knew she was attempting to mask her emotions. He'd overheard her painful conversation with her mother. The elder lady Smoak had been extremely saddened to hear that her daughter would be leaving. Even though Felicity had tried to explain the situation as best she could, it had been clear that her mother had a difficult time believing her.

"I would have brought your mother with us." Thor said in an effort to comfort her, "But my father would probably not take too kindly to too many Midgardians entering Asgard."

"You're bringing me." Felicity's toneless voice lacked the vibrant quality he had come to expect from her.

"This is different." Thor said. "Exceptions always have to made in dire situations." Felicity nodded. She looked down at her hands; contemplating his words.

"Will I be able to come back?" she finally asked.

Thor looked down and saw many conflicting emotions swirling in her eyes. She had suffered much, for one so young. "Truly, I do not know." he finally responded. "And I will not lie to you and make a vow I will not be able to keep."

She looked back down at her fingers. "okay."

Then Loki was brought in. He looked at the two of them standing together and tilted his head. He was gagged, but it couldn't hide the hungry look in his eyes when he saw the blue glow around Felicity's hands. Thor saw it too and quickly blocked Loki from her view.

"He can no longer harm you my Lady. You only have to endure him a short while, but I will be right by your side."

The rest of the Avengers and the members of team arrow were assembled around them. Felicity gave them a small sad smile. Tony stepped forward first, handing her a large bag. "I had this prepared the second you decided to leave. It's got clothes and ….girl things. Pepper suggested that you don't exactly know what to expect when you go over the rainbow and that you need to be prepared –" Felicity hugged him. He blinked at the sudden contact. Then slowly put his arms around her. "I don't usually do this touchy feely stuff, but I'll make an exception." He turned to look at Thor. "Bring her back in one piece, Bruce and I need our science buddy."

Steve, Natasha and Clint shook her hand. Bruce pulled her into a tentative hug. Then she turned to her friends from Starling city. The young boy, Roy was the first to hug her. Then the assassin Sara and Digg joined in and created a huddle. Only the Arrow stood apart; his arms folded over his chest. When they finally broke apart, Felicity walked slowly over to him. He looked away for a moment as if ashamed, then he put his hand on her shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

"I meant it." he murmured.

Fresh tears entered her eyes. "I know."

He pulled her in for a hug. She broke the embrace and walked back over to Thor. "Take care of him, Digg." She said. "He's liable to get into all sorts of trouble without me." Digg gave her a smile and nodded.

"I'm setting their computer system up with JARVIS." Tony said. "They'll be in good hands until you get back." He gave Thor a pointed look. "Because she will be coming back."

"I would not presume to argue with you, Man of Iron." Thor said. He placed his hand on Felicity's shoulder, "As the Bifrost is still in disrepair we must use the power of the Tesseract to return." He winced at the look of terror in Felicity's eyes. "I do not believe you should handle it directly, so you must hold on to me while I hold the Tesseract's container.

"That sounds good. You holding the Tesseract I mean, not me holding on to you. Not that holding on to you would be a bad thing." She stopped; shaking her head she took a deep breath. "I'm ready to go." Thor looked at her sadly. Holding Mjolnir in his fist he turned to face Loki. He bound Loki's hands to one side of the container. Then he gripped the other end, holding out his arm for Felicity. She shyly came over to him, holding the bag Stark had given her. Thor put his arm around her shoulders; she was incredibly small compared to him. She put one of her arms around his waist. He looked down at her, then he gave the Tesseract a twist. A light shot into the sky. Heimdall would see it and return them to Asgard. Soon enough there was the familiar pulling sensation. As he looked around his eyes met those of Oliver Queen. The man had a pained, hollow look to them, and he looked like he wanted nothing more than to tear Felicity away, but then he was gone.

Felicity felt the weird pulling sensation in her stomach. She clung to Thor in panic, but he seemed perfectly at ease. He'd probably done this hundreds of times before. She closed her eyes and waited until it stopped.

"It is over my lady," She heard Thor chuckle with amusement. "You can open your eyes." She opened and hastily pulled away from him, then gasped. They were in a large golden room, whose walls were made up of moving gears. It looked like a giant golden clock. "Is this the palace?" she asked. A man standing in the middle of the room with a giant sword began laughing.

"I like this one prince Thor." He said.

"Allow me to introduce Heimdall." Thor pointed to the man. "He is the gate keeper."

"This is the GATE?" Felicity looked around in shock. "Earth must seem so boring to you."

"Oh, I believe he finds ways to entertain himself." A blond man entered the room followed by two other men and a beautiful woman; all dressed in warrior's clothing. "I see you brought a souvenir prince Thor. What did you bring me?"

"This is Fandral." Thor rolled his eyes and tossed him the container with the Tesseract. "Pay him no attention Lady Felicity, no one else does."

"You wound me." Fandral said, catching the container. "And the lady Felicity can pay me all the attention she likes."

"You had better hope you haven't offended her." The woman stepped forward. "From what Heimdall told me she's a force to be reckoned with." She turned and smiled at Felicity. "I am Sif. This is Volstagg and Hogun." She indicated the other two men behind her. "We have come to escort you to the palace."

"Thank you." Felicity smiled. Sif definitely seemed like the type of person she could be friends with. "So are we walking there or –" she stopped when everyone began laughing. Then she saw the horses.

"Oh no."

You do not ride Lady Felicity?" Fandral gave her a wink. "I'm sure I could teach you the basics."

"The lady has had a trying day Fandral, the last thing she needs is your 'teaching'." Thor said.

"Do I have to?" she looked at the animals nervously. They were much bigger than the horses she'd seen on earth.

"How do Midgardians get from place to place without horses?" Volstagg asked with curiosity.

"Cars, trains, planes, buses, bikes, motorcycles, skateboards, boats…" she broke off when she saw the look of confusion on Volstagg's face. Thor and Heimdall were both laughing.

"The All father requests your presence in the throne room." Sif said. "He instructed me to bring you, your brother and the Lady Felicity to him."

"How did he know I was coming?" Felicity asked. Fandral indicated Heimdall.

"The gatekeeper sees all. He told us of your bravery my lady," he gave her an admiring look. "And of your subsequent accident." He placed his hand over hers. "If you wish it of me I will thrash Loki for you."

"No…Thank you?" Felicity looked at him, stunned.

Fandral shrugged and turned to help Volstagg secure Loki onto one of the horses. Thor picked up her bag and handed it to Hogun. "See that it is delivered to the lady's chambers." Then he turned to Felicity. "Would it ease your fear if I offered to have you ride with me on my horse?" He led Felicity over to the largest of the animals, because of course his would be the biggest. "He appears fierce and there is none I would rather ride into battle, but I assure you he is gentle." He placed her hand on the horse's nose.

"What's his name?" Felicity asked as the horse nuzzled her fingers.

"Glaðr, it means bright or glad." Thor flushed when she raised her eyebrows. "My mother named him." he mumbled.

"Lies." Sif chuckled from her saddle. "Thor chose the name himself. Do not allow him to trick you into believing he is only a hardened warrior. Much like his horse, he is easily tamed by a beautiful woman."

"Is that why he's never been charmed by you?" Fandral had also gotten into his saddle.

"Fandral is just sore from the last time I rejected him." Sif's eyes glittered with amusement. "He needs a strong touch, Lady Felicity. Perhaps you may use him as target practice once your training commences."

"He likes you." Thor smiled as Glaðr began rubbing his nose against Felicity's cheek.

"I don't imagine there's a creature in the 9 realms who could dislike her."

"Fandral." Thor warned.

"My apologies lady Felicity." Fandral turned his horse to face the city. Thor shook his head. Felicity looked at Glaðr, again.

"I guess it's now or never."

Thor grinned and helped her get on the horse. Once he was sure she was secure, he mounted behind her. Then they made their way to the city.

'

"I really wore the wrong clothes for this." Felicity muttered, looking uncomfortably down at the dress she was wearing. It was too short and, even though she was riding sidesaddle, it kept riding up on her legs. Thor took off his cape and put it over her lap, effectively covering her legs. She looked down at the bridge they were riding on. It really looked like the horses were standing on a rainbow, which really didn't do anything for her nerves. What if they fell through?

"Perhaps you need to talk about something to pass the time." Thor said, looking at the beginning of a blue glow around her. "Can you explain to me where on Midgard one could find flying monkeys?"

"What?" Felicity looked at him in confusion.

"The monkeys on Midgard fly?" Volstagg looked at her with interest.

"It was something Fury said." Thor explained. "That Eye of Hawk had been turned into a flying monkey. You and the Captain both seemed to understand…."

"Oh" Felicity smiled. "The Wizard of Oz; it's an old children's story." She looked away embarrassed.

"Tell us." Thor said gently. Felicity knew he was only trying to take her mind off her fear, but he really appeared interested. Volstagg, who had begun riding next to them, had her complete attention. Even Sif, who was sitting in front, had slowed her horse to listen.

"One thing you'll learn quickly about Asgardians, Lady Felicity." Said Hogun, "Is that they love to listen to stories."

"Well it starts with a young girl named Dorothy who lives on a farm with her aunt, uncle and dog, Toto…"

It took about an hour for them to reach the castle, by which time Felicity had finished her story. Thor watched in amusement as Fandral and Volstagg coaxed her into singing the song about traveling over the rainbow. She had a sweet voice and he could see that, for the moment, her troubles were indeed far behind her. That all changed as they entered the main city. She became tense again. All around them people flocked to see the prince returning with his imprisoned brother and he could hear the whispers of speculation as they wondered at the strange woman sitting on his horse. He looked straight ahead at the rising towers of the castle and allowed himself a small moment of doubt. He knew that bringing Felicity to Asgard was the safest option, but what would his father think?

When they arrived at the Palace door he dismounted, and held out his hand. Felicity slid down by herself.

"Was that truly so bad?" he asked.

"No" she looked up at the palace. "It's strange. It almost looks like the Emerald City, just gold instead of green."

Thor looked up at the palace. "Well then, are you ready to meet the wizard?" He felt a sense of accomplishment at the easy smile she gave him for referencing her story. Perhaps the meeting with his father wouldn't be so bad.


	9. Chapter 9

The throne room was…Felicity couldn't even find the words to describe it. She tried her hardest not to look like a wide eyed tourist, but she was failing miserably. All the assembled members of the court were looking at her with contempt. The women sniffed at her dress, while the men looked greedily at her legs…until they caught sight of Sif who was walking next to her, a hand on her sword.

Thor led the way, followed immediately by Hogun and Volstagg. Fandral stood behind her. Loki had been left with the guards outside the door.

"People live here?" she hissed, then ducked her head in embarrassment as she heard the sound resonate off the walls. Thor gave her an amused look as Fandral and Volstagg laughed. That's when she caught sight of the man on the throne.

Odin was….scary. He radiated authority and power. He looked down at the approaching party, his expression unreadable. When Thor approached him he seemed to absorb this scary aura. Gone was the gentle man who'd let her ride on his horse and listen to her babbling about Oz. This was Thor, Prince of Asgard. It was easy to see why people would believe him to be a god

"Father." Thor knelt in front of the throne. "I have returned. Loki has been captured and the Tesseract contained."

"If that were true then I suspect our newest guest wouldn't be here." Odin beckoned Felicity forward. "Do not be afraid, child."

Felicity stepped forward slowly. When she stood next to Thor she knelt on the ground next to him.

"Heimdall told us of your accident, Lady Felicity."

Felicity was too nervous to look up at Odin, she began shaking. And then the blue glow began. Before she could stop it, a burst of energy left her, knocking over everyone around her.

"I'm sorry." She looked around in horror at all the courtiers who had been caught in the blast radius. "I didn't mean…I…" she looked nervously at Odin. He was going to lock her up for sure.

Odin had been knocked off his throne. He stood, his helmet askew, his spear in hand. Then he began to laugh. The court looked on in silent shock as he leaned on his staff for support.

"The great nobility and warriors of Asgard; brought down by a small Midgardian woman." He continued laughing.

"I'm sorry. It's just not every day I get to meet a god. I mean this is what it must feel like to meet Zeus. Well no, because Zeus controlled lightning, so that would make Thor Zeus, but Zeus was king of the Greek gods so maybe Thor is Ares, or Hephaestus; he had a hammer. But he was ugly and Thor isn't and can someone please stop me before I say something even more embarrassing." Felicity put her face in her hands. Thor had gotten to his feet and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"Father, perhaps this conversation would be better had in private?"

Felicity had to agree. The members of the court had already looked at her in disapproval, but now the looks where filled with barely concealed rage. The women threw catty looks of jealousy at the way Thor stood next to her, while the men were clearly embarrassed that they had been so easily knocked over by a girl.

Odin waved away the court and waited until only Thor, Felicity, Sif, the Warriors three and a few members of the palace guard were left.

"My apologies, Lady Felicity. It was not my intention to frighten you." Odin gave her a smile. "But I have to admit, it was worth it."

Odin stepped down and walked over to Felicity, taking her hand in his. "Welcome to Asgard, child. I regret that the Lady Frigga could not be here to greet you, she was unwell this morning." He looked angered. "Loki's…actions have taken their toll. To first believe him dead, then discover that he is not only alive, but attempting to destroy an entire civilization." He shook his head. "But I will not add my burdens to your already considerable ones." He looked at her curiously. "There will be a feast tonight in honor of our prince's return and of your great battle against the Chitauri. Then tomorrow we will begin to attempt to understand what has happened to you and why."

"Um I didn't bring any feasting clothes." Felcity murmured.

"That is no matter." Odin chuckled. "While on Asgard, you will dress like an Asgardian. While that frock may be considered appropriate on Midgard, I will not have anyone making snide remarks because of your garb."

"Anyone who does so will have to answer to me." Thor grumbled.

"I believe that Lady Felicity will do fine without your assistance my son." Odin looked around , "Lady Sif, please conduct the Lady Felicity to her chambers. She will need rest before the feast." Sif nodded and Felicity followed her.

"Thor." Odin called. "I daresay Sif knows the palace well enough to conduct our guest to her room. I have need of you here." Felicity turned to see that Thor had begun following them to the door. Fandral, Hogun and Volstagg smirked as they walked out to collect Loki.

"Did you see the Lady Amora's face?" Felicity heard Fandral ask Volstagg "She looked so furious, perhaps she will want me to comfort her later."

"Your room is this way, my lady." Sif said leading her away from where Loki was standing.

"Sif, if I'm going to be stuck here, you might as well call me Felicity." Felicity said, following her.

"Stuck?" Sif looked at her in confusion. "You appear to have nothing hindering your mobility."

"It's a figure of speech." Felicity laughed.

"Sif" a haughty voice said from behind one of the pillars.

"Sigyn." Sif stiffened. "And Amora, what an unpleasant surprise." The two women stepped out and looked at Felicity with dislike.

"Well, aren't you going to introduce us?" the taller of the two women gave Sif a sickly sweet smile. "Seeing as Thor has made you his personal errand wench."

Sif raised her eyebrows, then turned to Felicity. "Pay them no attention. They are of no consequence; they just haven't realized it."

"At least we have a place." The smaller of the two looked at Felicity with rage.

"Sigyn, you of all people should realize that you no longer are a part of the court." Sif gave her a smirk, "now if you'll excuse us, the Lady Felicity is tired from her journey. And being fatigued makes her annoyed." She looked at the obvious tears in the two women's gowns from when they had fallen earlier. "And I daresay you don't want another demonstration of what happens when she is made uncomfortable."

"Hella take you." Amora hissed.

"She has tried, but so far she hasn't succeeded." Sif smiled and lead Felicity away.

"What's their problem?" Felicity asked as they rounded the corner.

"Sigyn was betrothed to Loki. She was tolerated at court after his death because of her father's position as former leader of the palace guard, but she fell considerably from the Allfather's favor after she pleaded with him to recall Thor and allow Loki to rule Midgard." Sif glared ahead of her.

"She loves him doesn't she?"

"Perhaps. Mostly she loves the power being married to him could have given her. Had he taken over Midgard, she hoped to be his queen. She hates you for foiling his plans and because Heimdall mentioned that Loki had kidnapped you with the intent of taking you as…" Sif broke off.

Felicity shuddered. "And the other one, Amora?"

"The Enchantress." Sif growled. "She and I have a deep and painful history, but her hatred of you stems from her desire for Thor." She stopped in front of a large door which Felicity supposed was her room. "Pay them no mind, they know better than to threaten an honored guest of the Allfather. Especially since Thor publicly placed you under his protection."

"Great, wait….He what?" Felicity looked at her in confusion. Sif gave her a smile.

"You were riding on his horse with him when you entered the city and you were wearing his cloak. In addition he touched you in open court before dismissing all the courtiers."

"He did that to be nice." Felicity said as Sif pushed open the door.

"While you might not be aware of Asgardian etiquette, Thor is. His actions were a warning to anyone who might want to cause you harm, specifically any man who might want to take advantage of you."

"Is there a book I can use as a crash course in et..." Felicity stepped into the room and gaped. "This…this is bigger than my apartment."

"This is your receiving room." Sif grinned. "Your sleeping chambers are beyond that door and your bath chamber is over there." She pointed to two doors at opposite ends of the room. "There is a room which conjoins the two where you will find your clothing. Heimdall estimated your measurements."

"Does that ever get creepy? Him knowing everything?" Felicity asked as she walked around the room, taking in the beautiful view of the city from the large windows.

"There is no more honorable man than Heimdall." Sif looked amused at Felicity's wide eyed surprise.

"Thanks Sif."

"You are welcome, Felicity." Sif turned. "If you need anything, just call one of the guards in the hall. There will be some servants along later to help you dress for the banquet." She gave a bow and left.

Felicity found the bag Tony had packed for her after her bath (If you could call it that, her bath tub was an actual swimming pool). In addition to the promised clothes and supplies, Felicity found a book on Norse mythology (with a post-it note that said "For research" on it), a Starling City Rockets sweater, and a wrapped package with a note. Felicity opened the envelope.

"Hey Smoakie, so I got you this because I saw the way the lightening lord was looking at you and I thought it might come in handy. You're welcome,

-Tony"

Nervously she opened the wrapping paper and out fell some Iron man lingerie.

"Damn you Tony." she laughed


	10. Chapter 10

As Odin's honored guest Felicity was expected to sit at the high table next to Queen Frigga. Odin and Thor would sit on the other side. Felicity had been escorted from her room to an antechamber next to the banquet hall. She arrived first. It had taken an hour of poking, pulling, and general unpleasantness to literally sew her into her dress and style her hair. She understood why Sif had become a warrior. Being forced to wear dresses like this on a regular basis was enough to make her want to stab something. It was a beautiful dress and the color matched her eyes. When she moved the dress appeared to flow like water. She was giving a small twirl to get the full effect when she heard clapping; Thor had arrived and was leaning against a pillar.

"Asgardian clothing becomes you Lady Smoak." He commented, with a smirk.

"Well good, because I'm probably never going to get out of this dress. I think Misandra sewed it to my ribs." Felicity frowned at the memory of one of the more enthusiastic servants. Thor laughed.

"I'm sure you won't be required to wear this elaborate a gown once your training begins." He said. "But rest assured, the result of your suffering is quite beautiful."

"Easy for you to say. You didn't spend the last hour as a human pincushion." She winced. "I don't even like needles. Haven't Asgardians heard of zippers?"

"You should suggest them to the court tailor." Thor said dryly. "I am sure Fandral will sing your praises once he realizes how simple the removal of clothing becomes. He's been a very vocal critic of the complexity of women's garb."

Then Odin and a woman, who had to be Frigga walked in.

"I apologize for not being present at your arrival Lady Felicity." Frigga said. "I only hope you don't hold it against me."

"Of course not your majesty." Felicity attempted a curtsey and almost tripped over her skirts. Thor let out a cough that barely disguised a chuckle.

"Please don't feel obligated to use such formality, child." Frigga smiled gently as Felicity regained her balance.

"I've never really had to curtsy before. I'm sorry; I'm not very good at it. I've never met a king or queen before. I mean; I met Oliver and his family, but they only had the last name queen. They weren't actual royalty; not matter what Moira might have believed. Plus I'm not used to Asgardian clothing, thank you by the way for the clothes and letting me stay here and helping me. Even though you didn't know me and- "

Thor was doubled over laughing at the stunned expression on Odin's face. Frigga gave him a sharp look. He cleared his throat.

"May I accompany you to your seat Lady Felicity?" he said sheepishly, offering his arm. She took it gratefully. At least if she tripped, he would be able to stop her from falling.

"Thanks." She whispered as they walked towards the banquet hall.

"Of course my Lady." Thor had a mischievous glint in his eye, leaning in he whispered. "If you were to trip you could accidentally let out an energy burst which would level the dining hall. Then we would have to cancel the banquet. I don't believe Volstagg would ever forgive you."

Felicity put her hand to her mouth in mock horror. "Well then it's a good thing that the mighty Thor has saved me from such a terrible fate."

"It is gratifying to see you in good spirits, Lady Felicity." Thor commented. "And that your ramble has returned."

Felicity was about to retort when they entered the main banqueting hall. She gaped, it looked just like Hogwarts.

"Excuse me?" Thor looked offended. "I have never seen warts on a hog, but I do not believe that it is an accurate description of our banquet hall."

Felicity groaned. "Well it looks like my brain to mouth filter is also intact; in that whatever passes through my brain comes out my mouth." She muttered. "Hogwarts is a magical school in another Earth…midgardian story. This looks just like the great hall, except that their ceiling was enchanted to mimic the sky."

"You must tell me this story."

"It's a pretty long one." They watched as Odin accompanied Frigga to her seat. As soon as she sat down Thor led Felicity over to her chair. Felicity looked around the hall. She was basically on display for the entire court to see. She wasn't sure that she would be able to eat without embarrassing herself. What if she dropped something on her dress? What if she knocked over a glass onto the Queen's dress? She could see Sif and the Warriors three at one of the nearby tables and she wished she could sit with them, but doubted that Odin would allow it.

"After the second course you are free to move around as you wish." Thor leaned in and whispered as he gently pushed in her chair underneath her. Then he left to take his seat next to his father. As Felicity turned to walked him sit, she caught sight of Sigyn and Amora glaring daggers at her. She flushed and looked at her plate. Noticing Felicity's nervousness, Frigga looked across the banquet hall. When her eyes met those of the two women she frowned; causing them to look away in shame.

At that moment Odin began his speech.

"Tonight, we celebrate the safe return of our dear prince Thor; who, with the help of some of Midgard's finest warriors managed to save Midgard from a terrible invasion." Odin then turned to Felicity. "We also welcome the Lady Felicity Smoak. Whose bravery and sacrifice allowed her to help save her people, at great personal cost."

Thor led the applause that followed. Felicity blushed.

"To Thor and the lady Felicity." Odin raised his glass.

"Thor and lady Felicity." The sound resounded through the hall and was followed by another round of applause. Felicity could see Volstagg banging his cup on the table, while Fandral whistled. She was grateful that Odin didn't mention her new superpowers. He waited until the applause died down.

"Let the feast begin!"

Servants arrived and placed large dishes on all the tables. Felicity looked at the food in confusion.

"I don't know what any of this is." She tilted her head. "I just hope it's kosher."

Frigga laughed. "I believe Volstagg will be more than happy to educate you in the diversity of Asgardian food." She indicated the table where Felicity could see Volstagg devouring what was on his plate. The woman next to him, who was probably his wife, had the long suffering expression of someone who had given up on trying to correct his table manners. Fandral and Hogun were whispering conspiratorially.

"I believe those two are placing wagers on how many roast pheasants he will consume." Frigga explained. "It's his favorite dish."

Fandral and Hogun shook hands while Sif rolled her eyes in exasperation.

"Odin is going to have our healers examine you tomorrow." Frigga continued. "We'll commence training you to control your abilities the day after. I will teach you to master your energy and the ability to call it forth when you need it. As I understand it only manifests itself when you are scared or frightened."

"You're going to teach me?" Felicity's eyes widened in surprise.

"Of course." Frigga raised her eyebrows. "Unless you would prefer someone else; I believe Amora could oversee your training." She chuckled as Felicity choked on her wine. Thor looked down the table and gave his mother a questioning look, but she gave him a dismissive wave.

"I suspect that she has been less than welcoming." Frigga frowned.

"That's one way of putting it." Felicity said, "I've dealt with women like her before. Well not like her, like her; I've never dealt with someone who had magical powers. But I have dealt with women who saw me as beneath them because I wasn't born on the right side of the tracks." She thought of Moria and Isabel. Even Laurel had looked down on her whenever she'd seen her with Oliver.

"Amora is simply jealous because you have managed to become closer to my son in a few short days than she has for the better part of a few centuries." Frigga said. "Though not from lack of trying on her part. Even when he was young and foolish he was never taken in by her…" she paused.

"I take it you're not her biggest fan."

"Fan?" Frigga looked amused. "If that means that I do not care for her then no, I am not her fan at all. She and her sister were once my most promising students." Frigga's expression became regretful. "But that is a sad story that I will not burden you with on this celebratory occasion."

"Does it have to do with Sif?" Felicity bit her lip as Frigga looked at her in surprise. "She mentioned earlier that she and Amora had a long and painful history."

"Did she tell you what it was?" Frigga inquired

"No, and I figured it would be rude to ask."

Frigga nodded her agreement. "It is Sif's story to tell not mine."

The second course arrived. Felicity took another sip of her wine.

"This is really good; which makes it dangerous." She smiled. "Drunk me has even less of a filter than sober me."

"Well that should make for a very interesting banquet." Frigga gave her a smile. Felicity was liking her more and more.

"ANOTHER!" Volstagg yelled, smashing his cup on the ground.

"Asgardian tradition?" Felicity asked slowly. "Because it seems like a waste of drinking cups."

Then the music started.

"Allfather, my lord Thor, my Queen." Fandral stood in front of the main table and gave a bow. "My lady Felicity, I find myself in an unfortunate predicament. I am 50 gold pieces poorer as a result of Volstagg's wife conspiring with Hogun to make a fool of me."

"As I recall those are the risks of gambling, Fandral." Thor grinned.

"I fear that the only way to regain my honor is a dance from one of the most beautiful women in the room."

"You flatter me Fandral, but I do not believe my husband would appreciate my gracing you with this dance." Frigga grinned as Fandral flushed.

"My love, I believe he was referring to the Lady Felicity." Odin reached over and took his wife's hand.

"I…I can barely even walk in this dress." Felicity looked down at the table.

"I promise to catch you should you fall." Fandral held out his hand. "Unless my prince has some objection he'd like to voice?" He threw Thor an innocent look.

"Not at all." Thor said. "Just remember that stepping on her foot might result in you losing yours."

"I've never removed a body part." Felicity glared at Thor. "I mean I've caused bruises but…" She broke off as she saw Thor chuckling. "Asgardian humor is going to take some getting used to."

"Loss of limb is a risk I am willing to take." Fandral helped her out of her chair.

The rest of the night was a blur. She danced with Hogun and Fandral. She was introduced to Volstagg's wife, Gudrun and his 5 children. She cheered on Sif when a young drunk warrior stupidly challenged her to an arm wrestling contest. She may even have slipped Volstagg's youngest, Hildy, a spoonful of the Asgardian equivalent of pudding which may have hit the back of Amora's gown.

It was only at the end of the night, when she'd returned to her chambers exhausted, that she realized that she hadn't been homesick once…and that Thor hadn't left his seat all night.


	11. Chapter 11

"My lord, did you not enjoy your celebration?"

Thor turned to see Amora leaning against a pillar. He sighed.

"Still trafficking in the shadows Amora?"

"I am saddened that you didn't ask me to dance." Amora began walking towards him. Thor fought the urge to flinch away. "I had this dress made specifically for the occasion." She motioned to her red and silver gown. "These are the colors of your battle armor are they not?"

Thor gave a curt nod and turned to leave.

"I suppose a woman only catches your interest if she is Midgardian." Amora's words stopped him in his tracks.

"What is that supposed to mean?" He growled.

"Just that I wonder if your new pet knows that she isn't the first." Amora grinned in triumph at Thor's angered expression. "Perhaps someone should inform her. Give her a friendly warning that as soon as a more intriguing prize comes along you will abandon her." She gave a hollow laugh. "That is why you've forgotten about the other one, correct? You find this wench's abilities more appealing?"

Thor gripped her by the neck and pushed her against the wall.

"Why my prince" Amora gasped. "I had no idea you could be so…feral. It suits you."

"Do not threaten the Lady Felicity and do not speak of Lady Jane." He said.

"Or you'll do what exactly?" Amora sneered.

"Nothing, except hold Lady Felicity's cloak as she teaches you a much needed lesson in manners." Thor let her go and backed away.

"I believe you place too much confidence in that Midgardian whore's abilities." Amora said through gritted teeth.

"And I believe you place too much confidence in your own." Thor looked at her sadly. "Good night Amora."

"This isn't over Thor." She shouted after him.

"No," he murmured quietly. "I do not believe it is." He kept walking until he found himself at the palace gate.

"Something troubles you Prince Thor?" Heimdall was astride a horse.

"May I accompany you back to the Bifrost?" Thor asked.

"Of course." Heimdall waited as a horse was brought out for Thor. The two rode in silence.

"You should just ask what's on your mind." Heimdall said.

"The Lady Jane…" Thor began.

"She is not pleased." Heimdall said softly. "Dr. Selvig told her of your return to Asgard with the Lady Felicity."

"Taking Felicity was necessary." Thor said. "Midgard would have been in danger."

"I believe that Dr. Foster understands this, but it does not change the fact that her entire focus for the last year has been attempting to find you. Then you arrive and leave Midgard with another woman." Heimdall paused. "I believe she has begun the Midgardian ritual known as 'seeing other people'."

"I… Soon the Bifrost with be repaired and I can explain myself." Thor said, but the words sounded hollow. He had sat through the entire banquet feeling guilty as he watched Felicity enjoy herself. He felt guilty for forgetting Jane and even more guilty because he didn't want to remember her. "What should I do, Heimdall?"

"I am a gatekeeper, I do not have the expertise to advise on matters of the heart." Heimdall looked at the approaching Bifrost. "I can tell you that the repairs are far from being finished. It may take a few years. Midgardians have such short lifespans. Perhaps it is better for her to create a life outside of her memory of you."

"I have a favor to ask of you." Thor said when they had arrived.

"Name it."

"The Lady Felicity has a close group of friends. In fact they are family to her." Thor looked back towards the castle. "Keep watch over them."

"I will my prince, but just as you have received unhappy news, the lady Felicity might not like what I see." Heimdall sighed. "It is painful to hear of your friends saddened by your absence, but more painful still to hear that they are happy without you."

"Thank you for your wise counsel Heimdall." Thor turned and galloped back to the city.

The next morning Felicity was brought to a huge room where a group of people were waiting. At the center was Frigga.

"How are you this morning my child?"

"Hung over." Felicity said. "I knew that wine was a terrible idea."

Frigga gave her a small smile. "I believe if you ask Fandral he will give you the address of an apothecary where you may purchase a cure to this…hang over."

"I…I don't have any money." Felicity looked at her shoes. "Unless your stores accept dollars; what's the Asgardian exchange rate?"

"All your expenses are covered by the royal treasury." Frigga gave a dismissive wave at Felicity's protests. "It is no problem child. We are happy to help you and your purchases will not be enough to indebt us." She took Felicity's hands. "You are our guest." She led her over to a table. "We are going to need to examine you. I will require you to lie on this table."

"Sure, um do I need to change or take my clothes off? Earth… Midgardian doctors always ask their patients to take their clothes off. Which sounds pervy, but it's not…at least not all the time. Statistically speaking someone's probably getting freaky with their doctor. And my head is pounding too much for this." She broke off embarrassed as she noticed that Thor had arrived and had probably heard the entire ramble.

"Do you require me to wait outside?" He asked cheekily.

Frigga chuckled. "This will not require you to remove your clothing. I can alleviate your headache, but it will only be temporary. Lie down child." When Felicity got on the table, Frigga pressed the fingers to her head. There was a golden light and Felicity felt the pounding lessen.

"I don't want you to be frightened." Frigga said. "This will not hurt in the least. We are simply going to look at your aura and determine whether or not the Tesseract's energy can be removed."

"Bruce said it wasn't possible." Felicity said. "He also said I wasn't….Human."

"Dr. Banner is very wise, but he does not have the same tools at his disposal." Thor said. He shifted uncomfortably. "If you wish I can wait outside."

"No it's fine." Felicity hoped her voice sounded more confident than she felt.

"Let us begin." Frigga and the other healers formed a circle around Felicity. They placed their hands on the table and suddenly it began to glow. Then a bunch of lights started dancing above Felicity's head. Purple, red, pink, and blue, so much blue, swimming in a sea of slivery light."

"Strange." Frigga murmured.

"What is that?" Felicity asked.

"It is a representation of your aura." Frigga said. "But Midgardian auras are based in bronze, not silver." She touched a part of the aura and it glowed, the silver light brightening so it was almost blinding. "There is some bronze here, but it is faint; overwhelmed by the sliver, drowned in the blue" She looked down at Felicity. "The blue is the energy you siphoned from the Tesseract." She and the healers each placed one of their hands in the aura and the other on the table.

"Felicity, we are going to attempt to drain the power of the Tesseract into this table, but I need you to remain calm."

Felicity swallowed and closed her eyes. "I…I don't know if I can."

"Breathe Lady Felicity." Thor said. "I gave you my word that no harm would come to you and it is a vow I intend to keep."

She gave a brief nod. Frigga and the other healers concentrated and it seemed to be working. The blue part was slowly moving through their arms into the table. Suddenly there was a rumbling noise. Felicity felt an enormous amount of pain and the blue intensified. Everyone was thrown back from the table.

"I'm sorry." Felicity sat up in horror and looked at the healers on the ground around her. "I didn't mean for that to happen."

"It is alright child." Frigga waved away Thor's hand and stood. "No one blames you." She turned to her son. "Thor I need to consult our library and talk to your father. Would you please take care of Felicity until I call for her?"

Thor nodded. He and Felicity walked out.

"Would you like to take a walk in the gardens Lady Felicity?" He asked. "I have sometimes found it has a calming effect."

"Why are you being so nice to me? I just threw your mom across a room."

"That wasn't you. It was the power of the Tesseract."

"You don't get it." Felicity turned to look at him. "Bruce said the power had fused with my…abnormal DNA. It's a part of me; it's my power; which means that on some subconscious level, I caused that blast."

"You were frightened."

"And in the tower? When I tossed Oliver across a room? Why did I do that; Oliver would never hurt me." Felicity had tears in her eyes.

"Perhaps not physically." Thor frowned. "But on some level you must have been afraid of him causing you pain."

"And why would it not have affected you? I barely even knew you." Felicity looked away. "I still don't."

"I was the one who found you on the roof." Thor said. "You were encased in the Tesseract's energy. I broke through and pulled you out. Perhaps you subconsciously knew I wouldn't hurt you. And once you awoke I was affected by the blast just like everyone else." Thor took Felicity's hand and led her to the gardens. He sat them down next to a pond full of colorful fish.

"What am I?" Felicity asked finally. "Your mother said humans had bronze auras."

"They do. Midgardian auras are mostly bronze with other colors laced in."

"And Asgardians?"

Thor chuckled at Felicity's expression. "Gold, my lady."

"So I'm not Asgardian, well that narrows it down to every single type of alien in the galaxy. Maybe I'm Chitauri."

"I do not believe so." Thor lifted her chin. "I do not know if you looked under the Chitauri's helms, but there were none as lovely as you." He smiled at her blush. "In addition your aura is one of the most beautiful I've ever seen. It is rare to see one with such an abundance of kind colors."

"I bet you say that to all the girls."

Thor frowned. "I have not seen the aura of any other woman besides my mother. In fact I have only seen that of my father and the Warriors 3. It is a deeply personal thing to see another's aura."

"That's why you asked if I wanted you to leave. So basically you've seen me naked." Felicity mumbled. She felt her face burn as Thor gave her a calculating look.

"In essence, yes." Thor said. Felicity gaped at him. He gave her a small smile.

"That's completely unfair." Felicity muttered. "I've bared myself to the god of thunder and I didn't even get to enjoy it."

Thor shook his head. "Would it make you feel better to know that no one has ever seen mine? Besides my mother, of course."

Felicity looked down at the pond and away from the intense look Thor was giving her. "So what type of fish are these?" She said in a desperate attempt to change the subject.

"I do not know." Thor looked at her sheepishly. "I was not very attentive in the learning hall; outside of battle training."

"Unbelievable. You're the inter-dimensional quarterback. Please tell me that you didn't beat up innocent nerds for their lunch money."

"I have never beaten anyone for their money." Thor looked confused. "I had no need to. And why would anyone do such a thing?"

"Us earthlings have weird cultural norms." Felicity laughed. "Well Earthlings anyway." She looked wistfully back at the fishpond. "I don't think I qualify as one of them anymore." She shook her head. "My entire life I've lived on the outside. I've been the nerd that no one wanted to be friends with because her mother was a cocktail waitress. I was always too smart or not pretty enough or not from the right family." She began shaking. "When I moved to Starling I wanted to reinvent myself. I thought I had a place on Team Arrow, but now I find out I'm not even human…maybe they were right; I'm a freak."

Thor put his hand on her shoulder. "I admit to not understanding a lot of what you just said. But I do know this; you are a kind hearted, intelligent, beautiful woman. Those who do not see that or who chose to attempt to ignore these facts for petty reasons are not worth your attention." He pushed a stray hair from her face.

"My lord." A servant had arrived and was fidgeting in front of them. "The Allfather requests the presence of you and the Lady Felicity in the library."

"Thank you." Thor stood and offered Felicity his hand.

Felicity stood shakily.

"What is a nerd?" Thor asked as he led her to the library. "You've used this term twice and I confess that I do not understand it."

"A nerd is…" Felicity stopped as they entered the most amazing library she had ever seen. "The type of person who could live in this library and be happy forever." She stepped away from Thor and spun around taking in the endless stacks of scrolls and leather bound books. "I don't think I'm ever going to leave."

"Nerd." Thor said.

Felicity looked at him in surprise. He pointed. "I believe my parents are over there." He took her hand. "Do not be afraid. I promise they will not take your…lunch money." Felicity laughed.

"Your laughter is music to my ears."

They walked over to the table where Frigga and Odin were sitting. Whatever momentary happiness Felicity had because of the library and Thor's jokes evaporated when she saw the expressions on their faces. Then she saw Heimdall was with them.

"This is bad isn't it?"


	12. Chapter 12

"Take a seat, child." Odin was the first to speak.

Felicity complied.

"Perhaps you should wait outside Thor." The look Odin gave his son implied that it wasn't a request.

"I will stay." Thor crossed his arms, "with the Lady Felicity's permission, of course."

"I don't mind if he stays." Felicity said. She really hoped he would. She didn't know if she could face this alone. Thor stepped forward, but he didn't sit. Instead he stood behind her, with his hand on the back of her chair.

"Very well." Odin sighed. "As you have probably gathered by now the Lady Felicity isn't Midgardian."

"Not completely." Frigga corrected. "There were traces of Midgard in your aura."

"So I'm descended from aliens?"

"One of your parents was not of earth." Frigga said gently. "Can you tell us which one it might be? We have a theory, but we need confirmation."

"My dad." Felicity said without hesitation. "He left when I was 7. My mom raised me so I think I would have noticed if she were…if she wasn't…" she took a deep breath. "It's probably him."

Frigga and Odin shared a look. Then they turned to Heimdall.

"What the lady Smoak says is correct." He said. "I have watched her mother and I believe that she is simply Midgardian."

"So what am I?" Felicity said.

"You are something much older than all of us."

"I'm 25." Felicity blurted, she flushed when Odin raised his eyebrows.

"Tell me child, have you ever heard of a race known as the Celestials?"

Felicity shook her head. Thor gripped the back of her chair. "I believed they were all wiped out." He said

Odin shook his head.

"You knew this." Thor growled. "And yet you thought it unimportant to tell me?"

"Who or what are the Celestials?"

"Beings as old as the universe itself." Odin opened a book. Felicity leaned over and looked at the page. It was filled with illustrations and runes. "They are said to have created the concept of life and death. Their numbers were once large, but now…" Odin paused as he turned the page. On it Felicity could see a great battle.

"These pictures move." She said. "Why are they moving?"

"It is normal, Felicity." Frigga said

"You just told me that my father might be a literal god and you expect me to understand the concept of normal?" She leaned back in her chair. "What happened to them?"

"Their authority was challenged by a group known as the Aspirants." Odin explained. "They were almost completely wiped out. The Aspirants believed that the people of the universe would be better off governing themselves. Greatly weakened, the Celestials fought back."

"That is when they used the orb." Thor said. "In a last attempt to regain control they took a powerful orb, similar to the Tesseract and sought to avenge their fallen people, but the years of war made them too weak to wield it and they were destroyed." He frowned at his father. "At least that was what I was told."

"This is true, but some of their number did not join in this last battle." Odin looked weary. "They came to me asking for nothing except peace. I offered them their choice of any of the 9 realms to live in, with the agreement that they would never attempt to regain their former station." He looked at Felicity. "Too many lives were lost, entire planets destroyed. I did what I thought was best."

"You sent them to Midgard." Thor said.

"I did." Odin replied. "It is my understanding that none of them wanted to stay on Earth. The people there were too primitive, so a majority of them left. However…" Odin turned to Heimdall.

"One stayed." Heimdall said. "I had been monitoring him for years. About 25 years ago, I lost sight of him. This blindness continued for around 8 years. Then he came to me. He told me he had fathered a child and that I would know when I met them. He tasked me with protecting that child, from his brother."

"Dad." Felicity said.

"His true name was Devron, the experimenter." Odin said. "His brother is Gamiel, the manipulator. He is one of the only Celestials about whom I had doubts when I granted them asylum." He turned to Thor. "I am sorry I did not tell you, but all of this happened long before you were born."

"Why is Gamiel so dangerous?" Felicity said.

"Gamiel has spent the last few million years attempting to find the perfect host. You see the Celestials created the Tesseract and the orb as well as multiple other stones of immense power. It is my guess that Gamiel believed he had found the key to wielding them. I have heard whispers that he was been going into worlds unknown to Asgrad, impregnating females in order to find the perfect combination to wield the stones of power."

"He visited Midgard 34 years ago and fathered a male child." Heimdall said. "That child was taken off world after the death of his mother. I have not been able to see him since."

"I have a cousin?" Felicity said, weakly.

"If you knew Gamiel was doing this, why not try and stop him?" Thor asked.

"We only had rumors." Frigga explained. "And we didn't know it was possible for a being to successfully wield the power of one of the stones." She looked over at Felicity.

"Until I touched the Tesseract." Felicity finished.

"It must have recognized something within you." Frigga said. "By touching it you brought your Celestial side to the forefront." She took Felicity's hand. "There is something else I discovered when I attempted to remove the power from you."

"You mean before I threw you against the wall." she looked at Odin in horror. "Accidentally. I didn't do it on purpose."

"I know child." Odin said.

"I succeeded in removing a large amount of power from you." Frigga said. "But it replenished itself."

"So I'm a power source." Felicity looked at the table. "I basically have a mini Tesseract inside me."

"No child, you are, as you say, a mini Tesseract."

"What does this mean?" Felicity said.

Odin looked at her gravely. "We cannot afford word of your powers to reach Gamiel's ears. If he were to learn of you, he might attempt to use you to channel the power of the Tesseract."

"But what about my cousin?" The word sounded so weird to say. "He was taken, and Gamiel may have him."

"There is nothing we can do for him." Odin said. "If he were still on your planet, we might have been able to locate him, but he has gone out of Heimdal's view."

Frigga stood. "I know this is a lot to take in, we will leave you." She stopped and placed a hand on Felicity's shoulder. "There is no safer place for you than Asgard." She and Odin left.

Felicity nodded, "Heimdall, what happened to my dad…after he came to you?"

"He left the planet. I believe he had heard of his brother's plans and wanted to find a way to stop him." Heimdall looked at her kindly. His golden eyes were a bit unnerving. They seemed to look through her, as if he could see her aura himself. Which, Felicity reflected, he probably could. "I believe he intended to return to you once he succeeded." Heimdall removed his helmet. "Devron has been among the Midgardians since their beginning. He has seen empires rise and fall. He has been present at the building and destruction of civilizations. He has inspired art, science, technology. In all my time watching him, I have never seen him care for anything as much as he did when he pleaded me to protect you."

Felicity felt a rush of emotions she thought she had locked away years ago. "He didn't leave."

Heimdall nodded. He picked up his helmet and began to walk towards the door.

"My cousin…" Felicity called after him. "What was his name?"

"Peter." Heimdall said before he left the library. Thor sat next to her.

"So it turns out my father has lied to me." Thor murmured. "How has your day been so far?"

"My dad was a member of an all-powerful species of megalomaniacs who used to rule the universe." Felicity said slowly. "I also have a crazy uncle who wants to bring back the glory days and a cousin who may or may not have been kidnapped by him."

"I do know something about having family members who want to rule the world." Thor gave a fake thoughtful look. Felicity shivered at the memory of Loki. Thor cleared his throat.

"Tomorrow you'll start training." He said, leaning back in his chair. "So you have the rest of the day to enjoy yourself."

"How would you suggest I enjoy myself? Try taking over a small planet?" Felicity said dryly.

"Maybe later." Thor stood, "For now, how about a riding lesson?"

"You mean horses?" Felicity paled. "Or those giant monsters you call horses."

"Well if Fandral were offering this lesson, I'm sure it would involve a completely different type of beast." Thor said. "But in my case I do mean horses." He smiled. "Besides, how are you going to be a conqueror without a horse?"

"I could always get some dragons." Felicity said. "You wouldn't happen to have any of those lying around."

"None that you would want to get close to." Thor led her to the stables. Pausing by the door he looked at her.

"I'm never going to go home am I?" she asked quietly.

"I truly do not know. But in time perhaps this could be your home."

Felicity looked away and walked into the stables. "Let's get this over with; before I change my mind."

(AN: some explanations about the celestials:

The Celestials are a group of powerful beings in the Marvel universe. Most of what I said about them is in accordance with the comics (If you believe wikipedia).

Devron and Gamiel were the two Celestials charged with presiding over earth so I chose one of them to be Felicity's father. They aren't actually related. I chose Devron to be Felicity's father because it's established on Arrow that he was very smart and encouraged her love of science.

Peter is of course Starlord. We don't know who his father is yet, so in the context of this story it could be one of the Celestials. Plus the Celestials appear briefly in Guardians when the collector is explaining the power of the orb. They are shown banding together to contain its power, like Peter and the rest of the guardians do. Nova Prime also says that Peter's father is something much older than any being she's ever seen so it's very possible that he actually is one of the Celestials.

Both the Orb and the Tesseract are infinity stones. I decided that the Celestials created them to provide a reason for Felicity being able to handle the Tesseract and absorb it.

I own nothing. I just play around with what's already there)


	13. Chapter 13

"Slowly, slowly." Thor held out his hands. "You're a natural." He remarked as he took hold of the bridle. Felicity beamed. "I had a great teacher."

The riding lesson had taken the better part of 3 hours. Thor had lent Felicity his horse. They'd first gone through the basic care and preparation of a horse for riding. Then Thor had led her to a clearing where the real lesson began.

"Do you still fear riding my lady." Thor asked as he helped her down.

"It may not be the worst thing ever." Felicity admitted. "aaah. I'm sore." She said as she walked towards Glaðr's face.

"That is normal." Thor chuckled.

"This guy's definitely not as scary as I thought." Glaðr nuzzled her face as she patted his nose. She giggled as he blew air in her face. "He's a big softie."

"Tell no one." Thor huffed. "He is a fearsome warhorse. It would not do for him to be known as…a softie."

"I'm not the one who named him happy." Felicity grinned at Thor's flustered embarrassment. They began walking back to the stables. Glaðr kept rubbing his nose on Felicity's neck as she fed him horse treats she'd taken from the stables. Thor frowned. "We will have to get you your own horse." He muttered.

"Are you jealous because he likes me better?" Felicity asked. Thor rolled his eyes.

"I believe our prince does not feel comfortable with the growing affection his beast has for you." Fandral was waiting for them by the stable doors. "Oh and he doesn't appreciate his horse favoring you either."

"You are just a waking sexual innuendo aren't you?" Felicity said

"Anytime you wish to confirm your suspicions, I will be more than happy to comply." Fandral winked. "They don't call me the dashing for nothing."

"Mostly because he dashes away so quickly from a lady's bedchamber the morning after he is through with her," Thor led his horse into the stable and handed him to one of the servants there. "There are better choices for suitors, Lady Felicity."

"Um. Suitors?" Felicity looked at Thor in horror. "Please tell me you're joking, or that the word has a different definition on Asgard."

"What did you want Fandral?" Thor asked his friend as they made their way back to the palace.

"To bask in the warmth of the lady's presence." Fandral grinned at Thor's irritated sigh. "I came to ask if you'd accompany us to the tavern tonight. Now that the formal feast has taken place the real festivities can begin. Sif and Hogun are ready and Volstagg is convincing Gudrun to let him attend." Fandral smirked. "I believe he even volunteered to help clean the dishes."

"I've never been to a tavern before." Felicity's excitement fell at Thor's expression.

"A tavern is no place for any woman of good reputation." He said finally.

"Sif is going." Felicity pointed out.

"Sif is a warrior." Thor said simply. "No man would dare lay a finger on her, lest he want to have it removed."

"I think I've proven I can defend myself." Felicity retorted.

"I don't want you in harm's way." Thor said.

"So the men get to go out and have fun while the women do what? Stay home and knit?" Felicity glared.

"I'd weigh your next words carefully, Thor." Sif grinned. They had arrived at the palace.

Thor put his head in his hands. "Lady Felicity. I do not want the court to talk about you in a negative manner."

"Since when have you cared about the court's talk?" Hogun asked.

"My foolish youthful exploits are one thing." Thor growled. "Her entire reputation could be compromised."

"I don't mind being compromised." Felicity said. "I refuse to sit around and do nothing."

"You have training tomorrow." Thor said weakly, but he could tell that he'd been beaten.

"Everyone knows that a little celebration the before sharpens one's focus." Fandral grinned.

"I am sure the lady is responsible enough to know her limits." Hogun added. "If you feel anyone is disrespecting her, you are more than welcome to defend her honor."

"That is if Sif doesn't defend it first." Volstagg had arrived.

"I do not believe Felicity needs my help defending her honor." Sif remarked. "However I would be honored to be your champion."

Thor looked at them in dismay. Finally he sighed. "Allow us a few minutes to change." He muttered. Felicity grinned. She turned to Sif.

"Can you help me chose something to wear? I don't really know what's considered acceptable tavern wear."

"Oh I believe we can find something." Sif had a mischievous glint in her eye.

"Sif," Thor called after them. "I would prefer to not spend my night fighting to keep scoundrels away from her. Did you hear me? SIF?"

He turned to see Hogun, Fandral, and Volstagg laughing. "What?" he growled.

"I believe I should give up my pursuit of the lady." Fandral said. "I believe she already has a more interesting offer of courtship." He sighed at Thor's confused face. "Go and change. You smell of horse."

"This one." Sif said. "It's flattering, but it covers you enough to be modest." She held up a rust colored dress. Felicity looked at it.

"The color's not really me." She said.

"Perhaps this one?" Sif held up a pink dress with a similar neck line.

"Definitely." Felicity smiled. "I didn't think you'd go for this type of stuff."

"What do you mean?" Sif said as she turned to give Felicity some privacy.

"The whole girly picking out dresses before a night out thing."

Sif chuckled. "I confess to not having much patience for frivolity. But occasionally I find it can be amusing."

"Well if I looked like you then I wouldn't have to worry about appearance either." Felicity said. "You manage to look lethal and beautiful at the same time. I bet the guys never tried to stop you from having fun."

"Oh believe me, they tried." Sif said. "They did not succeed. I fought tooth and nail for the respect I have. Even now, I still come across chauvinistic fools who presume to tell me what I can and can't do."

"Must get lonely." Felicity said quietly.

"I once had someone." Sif admitted.

"Do you mind me asking what happened?" Felicity could see the sadness in Sif's eyes and knew what her answer would be.

"Perhaps another time." Sif said evenly. "It is better to be merry tonight, then to be weighed down by the ghosts of the past."

Felicity nodded. "I'm ready!" Sif turned. She gave her a conspiring wink. "Well, I believe Thor will have his work cut out for him tonight."

The next morning Felicity was awake bright and early. She was getting dressed when a knock came at her door.

"The queen requests your presence in her receiving room at your earliest convenience." The servant said.

"Thank you." Felicity said. "Um do you know where that is? I've actually never been to the royal living part of the palace before."

"Those rooms are on the floor above you my lady. I have been instructed to lead you there."

"Give me just a few more minutes. She rushed back into her room. She'd put on a pair of jeans and a t shirt from the bag Tony had given her. She didn't want to train in Asgardian clothing, but she knew it was probably improper to walk around the castle in Midgardian clothes. She grabbed her cloak. It was huge and it covered her completely.

"Lead the way." She said. The servant nodded.

"What's your name?" she asked as they were walking.

"Nydia, My lady." The girl couldn't have been older than 16, but Felicity knew that looks could be deceiving. If she looked 16, it probably meant she was about 200. She'd learned that lesson when she'd found out that Volstagg's youngest daughter, Hildy was actually 57, even though she looked around 5.

They'd made it to the floor of the royal apartments. Nydia led her past a large door, which Felicity supposed was the room over hers, but before she could wonder who it belonged to a door down the hall opened, and Amora walked out.

"So this is why you're dismissing me." She called behind her, glaring at Felicity.

"You are no longer my student, Amora." Frigga's voice echoed down the hall.

"You will all regret treating me this way." Amora walked down the hall. "As for you, you little wretch." She pushed Nydia to the ground and grabbed the front of Felicity's cloak. "Don't believe that your innocent act will fool anyone. You'll get what's coming to you."

Felicity felt her power growing inside her and focused it entirely on Amora. Blue light shot from her hands and tossed the Enchantress halfway across the hall. Amora raised her hands and was about to retaliate when a pair of shackles appeared on her wrists.

"That's enough." Frigga said. She had the shackles drag Amora towards the stairs. A green light began glowing around her wrists and Amora broke the shackles. She threw one last angry look over her shoulders before she turned and left.

"I'd say you just mastered lesson number one." Frigga said as Felicity helped Nydia to her feet. "Focusing your energy on a specific target." She looked at the place where Amora had been standing moments previously. "Nicely done."


	14. Chapter 14

Felicity's days had begun to take on a routine. In the mornings she'd work with Frigga on focusing and using her powers. Then she'd have lunch with Sif or The warriors 3 or Thor or Volstagg's family depending on who was available. After lunch she either had a fighting lesson with Sif or a horse back riding lesson with Thor.

"Concentrate, Felicity. Listen to your heartbeat. Hear your breathing."

Felicity was in Frigga's room meditating. Her eyes were closed and she sat facing the window. The early afternoon sun was on her face. It was one of the most peaceful moments she'd had since New York.

"Mother may I borrow the Lady Fel –"

Thor's voice cut through Felicity's meditative haze. She gave a squeak and…dropped to the floor?

"What the hell?"

"You were…floating?" Thor looked at his mother then back at Felicity.

"She's been able to do it for the last 4 days." Frigga had a proud smile on her face. "It only happens when she mediates. I believe it is the only time she is relaxed enough to unlock this ability." She helped Felicity to her feet. "I did not wish to alarm you, child and it was my intention to tell you today, but then we were interrupted." She gave Thor a pointed look. "I believe I taught you better than to enter a lady's rooms without invitation."

"I apologize, mother." Thor said. "But I have an urgent matter to discuss with Lady Felicity."

"Her training session is over for today." Frigga smiled. "Go."

Thor offered his arm.

"What is it?" Felicity asked. "You look worried."

"We are having our riding lesson early." Thor said. He led her to the stables.

"What about lunch?" Felicity asked. He pointed to Saddle bags that a servant was holding.

"And this." Thor said leading her over to one of the stalls. "Is for you." A beautiful horse with a gray and black spotted coat with a yellow mane looked back at her. She was smaller than the other horses and seemed to be very gentle. Felicity opened the door and rushed inside. The horse nuzzled her neck.

"Does she please you?" Thor asked, tentatively.

"She's beautiful." Felicity said. "Does she have a name?"

"You must give her one." Thor smiled as he saw Felicity's expression turn into, what he liked to call, her thinking face. "Do not feel pressured." He chuckled. "The right name will come to you." He turned and left to saddle his horse. Felicity could barely contain her glee as she prepared her new horse.

"Is this why you wanted to see me so urgently?" Felicity said as they left the palace grounds.

Thor stared ahead and said nothing.

"The picnic idea is fun too." Felicity said. "I haven't had one since I was a kid. After my dad left my mom was…one day I came home from school and she had brought a ton of sand into the kitchen. We were supposed to go to the beach that weekend, but since he wasn't around." She smiled at the memory. "Mom said we would have to bring the beach to us. We wore our bathing suits and played around with beach balls and had a picnic." A tear came to Felicity's eye. "It was the first time we both smiled since he'd left."

"She sounds like an exceptional woman." Thor said, quietly.

"What's wrong?" Felicity asked. "You're making me nervous."

Thor continued to stare forward. "I will explain once we arrive at our destination."

"Which is where, exactly?" Felicity asked.

"It is a special place." Thor said. "I believe you will like it." They turned a corner and Felicity saw a waterfall which emptied into a lake. It was surrounded by exotic plants and flowers which she had never seen before.

"It's amazing!" She slipped off her horse and rushed to the edge of the lake. "Can we go swimming?"

"We are not stopping by the lake, my lady." Thor chuckled. Felicity looked at him in surprise. He pointed to a tree which was by the top of the waterfall. "There is a spot up there which is perfect for picnics; and has a stunning view."

"I have this thing about heights." Felicity said as she got back on her horse.

"You were floating this morning." Thor pointed out as they lead the horses up the side of waterfall.

"I didn't know I was doing it." Felicity huffed. "And there is a big difference between floating a foot off the ground and sitting on the edge of a cliff."

Thor chuckled. "I will not let you fall." He pointed ahead. "The path goes underneath the waterfall. We should get down and lead the horses. I know mine isn't excitable, but yours might be."

"Don't listen to him." Felicity said as she got off. "He's a meanie face."

"Meanie face?" Thor chuckled. "By all means stay on your horse and when she gets frightened by the sound of the falls she will throw you and you will get that swim you asked for."

"And you will have to ride back with a woman with soaked clothing." Felicity smirked. "What will the court have to say about that?"

They went along the path. Felicity looked at the water cascading next to them. She got an idea.

"Watch this!" She turned to face the water. Concentrating she held out her hands. A blue glow began to emanate and she directed it at the water. Some of the water detached itself from the falls. Thor watched in fascination as Felicity moved the water around, looping it around her horse's neck and pushing out through the waterfall. Then she gave him a wink and tossed the water in his face.

"What?" He coughed, wiping his face. "I do not believe I deserved that."

"That was for questioning my horse." Felicity mounted and galloped forward. "Catch me if you can."

"You don't even know where we're going!" Thor shouted after her.

"I think I can find the only tree next to the top of the falls." Felicity smiled.

When Thor caught up to her she was sitting underneath the tree petting her horse and giving her an apple.

"Good girl." She said. "We sure showed those silly boys; didn't we?" Her horse neighed as if in agreement.

"The two of you are going to be trouble aren't you?" Thor slid off his horse and walked over to them. He held out his hand to Felicity.

"Do you trust me?" He said. She nodded. Slowly he led her over to the edge of the falls.

"Heights." She said, clutching his arm. He put his arm around her shoulders.

"Look forward." He said, pointing. She did as he said and her eyes widened.

"I can see all the way to the Bifrost!"

"I told you the view was stunning." Thor grinned.

"I bet all the girls you've taken up here have thought the same thing." Felicity rolled her eyes.

"Well Sif has become accustomed to it." Thor said. "And none of the women in the court ride half as well as you. I have taken no other lady here." He turned back to the tree. "Loki and I used to play here as children." He felt Felicity put her hand on his arm.

"You miss him." She said. "The little boy you grew up with."

Thor nodded.

"So, what is it you wanted to tell me?" Felicity asked in an effort to change the subject. It failed because his expression darkened.

"You might want to sit." He said, leading her back over to a rock underneath the tree.

"I spoke to Heimdall this morning." He said. "The gatekeeper was keeping an eye on your friends as a favor to me." Thor held Felicity's hand. "As such he saw your friend Oliver's sister return to Starling city in the company of her father."

"Robert Queen is dead." Felicity said.

"The name Heimdall used was Malcolm Merlyn." Thor said.

"He's dead too, Oliver killed him." Felicity insisted.

"Heimdall doesn't lie, my lady." Thor said.

"Someone has to warn Oliver." Felicity said. She tried to stand but Thor gripped her hand.

"Please sit…there is…" he looked pained. "There is more I need to tell you."

"Did Malcolm hurt Thea? Did he hurt Oliver?" Felicity looked at him.

"Both Oliver and the Lady Thea are unharmed." Thor said tonelessly. "But Merlyn used some sort of witchcraft to compel Thea to shoot the Lady Sara." He watched as Felicity's face shut down.

"No."

"My Lady – "

"NO!" Felicity pushed him and stood. "Sara isn't. She can't be."

"She was shot with three arrows." Thor said. "She fell off a building. Her sister found her." Felicity began sobbing.

"The Lady Thea is unaware of her actions. I am sorry." He put a hand on her shoulder. "The Canary was a great warrior."

"Why didn't Heimdall stop him?" Felicity turned. Anger flashed through her tears. "If he saw what was going on he should have prevented it."

"Heimdall is the gatekeeper." Thor explained softly. "His job is to stand watch; to witness, but not to interfere. Even if he wanted to, he couldn't have. The Bifrost is still damaged.

"Why?" Felicity said. "Sara suffered so much. She…she was so strong." She covered her face with her hands. Thor pulled her against him and held her as she sobbed.

"I do not know." he murmured.

"Oliver needs me." Felicity broke away from him and went towards the horses. "I need to tell him about Thea and Malcolm"

"You cannot return." Thor blocked her way.

"We used the power of the Tesseract to get here. I probably have enough to go back, with Heimdall's help – "

"And if something goes wrong?" Thor stopped her. "Even if you managed to safely get there, there is no guarantee you would return. Then there is the question of the threat your presence poses to Midgard. If word were to reach Gamiel of a Celestial descendant that had harnessed the power of the Tesseract, he would stop at nothing to get his hands on you." He held her chin and forced her to look at him. "Your father sacrificed himself to keep you safe. Do not let that have been in vain."

"But my friends." Felicity said.

"Have the support of the Avengers." Thor said. "Heimdall told me that the Man of Iron has kept his promise to help them. In addition there is a man in the central city who has developed the ability to travel at fast speeds as a result of being struck by lightning."

"Barry." Felicity said. Thor nodded.

"He and his allies are being brought together by Stark. Your friends are safe." Thor gave her a pleading look. "I beg of you not to endanger yourself. While I did not know the Lady Sara, I do not believe she would want you to take unnecessary risks. Not now that she is gone."

Felicity let out another sob. "What am I supposed to do?"

"Grieve for your friend." Thor said as he pulled her into his arms. "Live for her." She was so small, so young to suffer so much. He held her as she wept, feeling helpless and unable to protect her from the pain she was feeling.

"Ta el Asfer." Felicity said.

"What?" Thor looked down at her in surprise. Felicity was looking at her horse.

"It was the name the League gave Sara when she joined them. It means yellow bird." She looked at her horse. "Ta el Asfer."

"It is a good name." Thor said. "It does your friend great honor. She is smiling from Valhalla. She has her rest."


	15. Chapter 15

"How is the lady Felicity?" Sif asked as she and Thor sparred.

"Losing her friend was difficult." Thor grunted as he deflected one of Sif's sword strikes. "A part of her believes that if she were there, she might have been able to stop it from happening."

"Where is she now?" Sif spun and caught Thor's hammer blow on her shield.

"At the Bifrost, speaking with Heimdall."Thor grunted. "She's been going every day. She claims it brings her a measure of peace, but I believe she is even more distressed after these visits."

"So what would you suggest?" Sif ducked and evaded another one of Thor's strikes. Weaving so she stood behind him she hit him on the back with the flat of her sword. "Would you order her to stay within the palace? Lock her up in a tower where none could enter without your express permission?"

"I just believe that her talks with Heimdall do more harm than good." Thor was flustered and it was beginning to show; his technique was slipping.

"These friends are her family." Sif took a step back and adjusted her stance, poised, waiting for Thor to make the next move. "If you were stuck in a strange land, cut off from all familiar things, would you not take any news you could obtain, no matter how much aching it caused you?"

"I wish there was a way to heal her pain." Thor struck forward. Sif sidestepped and hit his arm with the flat of her sword.

"Only time can heal such wounds." Sif said gravely. Thor contemplated her words. Using his distraction, Sif delivered a strong blow to the arm holding Mjolnir with her shield; causing him to drop it. Simultaneously; she swept his feet out from using her sword. Thor went down. Sif stood over him and pointed her sword at his throat.

"Well, I believe your worries are at an end my prince. Seeing as I've just killed you." She grinned.

"I was thinking." Thor grumbled.

"A dangerous occupation indeed," Fandral had arrived. "Is that why you partake in it so rarely?"

"I believe that there is a rule that states that none shall be above royalty." Thor growled. "As such, you should be on the ground Fandral." Thor sat up and patted next to him.

"I believe that rule only applies to kings." Fandral smirked. Thor looked at Volstagg who pushed Fandral to the ground. He landed flat on his face.

"This was a new tunic." Fandral sat up and wiped the dirt from his mouth.

"Afraid of a little dirt?" Hogun teased. Fandral picked up a handful of mud and threw it at Hogun. He ducked and the mud sailed past him and hit Felicity, who was just entering the training area, straight in the chest."

"My lady." Fandral exclaimed in horror. He and Thor both stood and began brushing the dirt off their clothes.

"Allow me to apologize I –" his next words were cut off as a bunch of mud hit him in the back of the head. He turned to see Sif nonchalantly leaning on her sword; her hands covered with the incriminating evidence. Just as he was about to berate her, one of the water barrels on the side of the arena lifted itself and overturned itself over his head.

"I'd say we're even now." Felicity grinned as she lowered her hands, the blue around them dimming.

Thor, Hogun and Volstagg were howling with laughter. Sif and Felicity shared an evil grin. A few seconds later the three of them were soaked and covered in mud while Felicity and Sif ducked for cover behind some pillars.

"This is a declaration of war." Thor called out.

"Haven't I defeated you enough for one day?" Sif sighed as Felicity erupted into giggles.

"My dear lady Felicity." Fandral said. "Sif, surrender and we will be merciful."

"Yeah, I don't think so." Felicity created a ball of pure energy. Peeking out from the pillar she tossed it on the ground in front of the men. It exploded; covering them with a new layer of mud.

"I say we've been merciful enough." Volstagg stepped forward, "seeing as it was them who began this fight."

"Ladies never start fights." Felicity stepped out and blasted all four of them off their feet and into the mud. "But they can finish them."

"It seems I have defeated you enough for one day." Sif said as she came to inspect Felicity's handiwork. "This victory belongs entirely to the Lady Felicity."

"On your backside in the mud. It seems we always meet this way, Thor."

The group turned to see a tall man with large shoulders and light brown hair leading against a pillar. He was dressed head to toe in black with accents of silver. He had a scabbard on his back and a dagger on his belt.

"Vadrun." Thor growled.

"Please do not feel obliged to get up." Hogun went to kneel in front of the newcomer. Felicity turned to Sif in confusion.

"Vadrun is the prince of the Vanir. They live on Vanaheim; one of the other realms." She explained. "Hogun is originally from Vanaheim.

"How is it that you managed to come here?" Thor growled as he stood. "The Bifrost is closed."

"There are other ways in and out of Asgard." Vadrun shrugged. "Our worlds are more connected than you would believe." He looked at The Warriors 3 with contempt. He looked hungrily at Sif; this look intensified when he looked at Felicity.

"I do not believe we have been introduced." He stepped forward.

"And that will have to wait." Thor blocked his path. "The lady is exhausted and must prepare for her nightly meal. State your purpose and leave."

"I have come to seek an audience with the AllFather." Vadrun said, still leering at Felicity.

"She is not the All father. Perhaps your eyes begin to fail you." Sif growled.

"Is that anyway to talk to your betters?" Vadrun looked at her with amusement. Sif drew her sword.

"Draw your weapon and I'll show you who's better."

"Stand down Sif." Thor crossed his arms. "Escort the lady back to her bedchamber."

Felicity would normally have been furious at being dismissed, but she wanted to get as far away from Vadrun as possible.

"What's the story between Vadrun and Thor?" she whispered when they were far enough away.

Sif looked around them and put a finger to her lips. "Not here. The very walls have ears." She walked Felicity back to her room and shut the doors.

"Sif, what's wrong?"

Sif stood facing the door; she was shaking. Then she turned to face Felicity.

"I once told you that the enchantress and I have a painful history." Sif motioned for Felicity to sit on one of the couches. "It is a tale I will tell you now."

She took a deep breath and sat, placing her sword and shield on the table in front of her.

"His name was Haldor." She began softly. "He was the fiercest of all the warriors. Loyal, brave and strong. He was mine." She turned over her shield, Felicity could see that it had runes inscribed on the inside. "I was his. In those days, I longed for battle, but never pursued this wish. One night I snuck into the armory. I was practicing with a sword when he found me. I was frightened and worried that he would have me punished. Instead he began training me. We fell in love." Sif began tracing the runes. "Vanaheim and Asgard had a tournament. Thor, young and foolish that he was, challenged Vadrun to a duel. Vadrun was older and a more seasoned fighter. He easily defeated and humiliated him. Haldor then challenged Vadrun and defeated him, thuse reclaiming the glory of Asgard. It was after this defeat that Vadrun saw me. He…desired me, but he was aware that he could not have me while Haldor stood in his way."

Sif's hands clenched.

"Amora and her sister Lorelei were the two sweetest and most powerful of Frigga's students. There was never any way to prove it, but Vadrun charmed them. He turned them into power hungry monsters. Amora set her sights on Thor and the throne, but Lorelei…" Sif paused. "She tried a vastly more destructive tactic than simple flirting. She had the power to enthrall men and she used this…on Haldor." Sif closed her eyes and attempted to regulate her breathing. "Under her influence he… declared war on Asgard." She met Felicity's eyes and there was more pain in them than Felicity had ever seen in any person's eyes.

"I killed him." She said. "He was beginning to fight Lorelei's influence, but he wasn't strong enough. He begged me to end it. We fought and I held out for as long as I could, but…" Tears began to flow. "He thanked me at the end. Lorelei was silenced and imprisoned. She will never tear someone's love from them as she tore mine from me." Sif reached out and took Felicity's hand. "Vadrun desired me and was willing to burn Asgard to the ground in order to possess me. Thor knows this, but as there was not enough evidence, and Odin would not go to war on a speculation."

"So Amora and Vadrun got away with it?"

Sif nodded. "I tell you this, because I need you to understand the threat Vadrun poses. I do not know why he has come to Asgard, but whatever the reason, it is not good. He desires power and beauty. I do know that I have only seen him look at a woman the way he looked at you once before."

"The tournament after Haldor defeated him." Felicity paled. Sif nodded

"Exactly."

* * *

Thor stormed into the throne room. He had quickly changed into his battle armor. It wasn't traditional to appear before the king dressed for war, but Thor didn't care. Vadrun had some nerve showing his face here.

"My son." Odin motioned as the courtiers scattered to get out of his way. "Prince Vadrun was just about to explain the reason for his sudden visit."

Thor went to stand next to his father. Glaring down at Vadrun he waited for the man's request.

"I am deeply saddened by the lack of communication between our worlds since the destruction of the Bifrost." Vadrun began. "I searched long and hard for a way to enter."

"And how did you manage that?" Thor growled. "The ins and outs of Asgard were only known to Loki."

"With enough study, one marvels at the things one is capable of finding." Vadrun smiled. "I finally gained access. I just had to be properly motivated."

"And this motivation?" Odin asked.

"My father is ailing and wants me to ascend to the throne. Every king needs a Queen. I wish to increase the diplomatic ties between Asgard and Vanaheim. The only way, seems to be a diplomatic union."

"This type of union only comes about between the children of two kings." Odin looked over at Thor. "For all his many talents, I do not believe my son is suited to be a queen."

"As lucky as anyone would be to have Thor," Vadrun smirked. "I believe that any important member of the Asgardian court will do."

"The Lady Sif has no interest in marriage." Odin frowned.

"Oh, I do not mean the lady Sif." Vadrun's grin widened. "I was referring to your ward, Allfather, the blonde woman who bested Thor and his companions earlier this morning."

Thor gripped Mjolnir and took a menacing step forward. In the crowd of courtiers he saw Fandral and Volstagg both grip their weapons. Hogun glared. Whispers began around the court.

"The lady is not of Asgard." Odin held up a hand, anticipating Thor's anger.

"But she is under your protection." Vadrun pointed out. "and she is unmarried. Unless there is another suitor…"

"I will consider your petition Vadrun." Odin said evenly. "Leave us." He dismissed the court. Vadrun gave a final smirk and left.

"Father you cannot be considering this. Vadrun is a snake and an enemy of the throne. Felicity should not be offered to him as a political match. I will not allow it."

"Thor." Odin sighed. "I assure you, I am not giving any thought to Vadrun's petition. Though it is unproven, I believe, as you do, that he had a hand in Haldor's betrayal. However we have no proof."

"Felicity is of Midgard." Thor said. "Marrying her would give him no political ties to Asgard. He desires her for another reason."

"He wants her power for Vanaheim." Odin said simply. "He has never liked the Asgardians for controlling the Bifrost. He wishes to rule the 9 realms. What he does not notice, is that we only act as keepers of peace and order between the realms. I believe he wants Felicity for her power."

Thor breathed a sigh of relief.

"He will not back down so easily, my son." Odin said. "Felicity may be powerful, but that will only cause disreputable men from attempting to use her."

"I believe you underestimate her judgment." Thor said.

"As an unmarried woman, the lady is vulnerable." Odin raised his voice. "While I do agree that she should not marry Vadrun, she should consider a suitor. Fandral, perhaps?"

"Fandral only desires her in his bed." Thor grumbled. "He is a good man, but not prepared to be a good husband."

"Hogun isn't a good choice either." Frigga, who had been standing on Odin's other side, finally spoke. "While he serves the throne of Asgard, he still has family in Vanaheim. Vadrun could use them to pressure him to return home; and take Felicity with him."

"There are many other warriors in the palace guard." Odin waved dismissively. "She just has to choose one."

"Felicity was raised to marry for love." Thor growled. "We cannot force her to enter a loveless union."

"It is for her own safety." Odin said.

"And how much must she sacrifice for her own safety?" Thor retorted. "She left her home, her friends, her family, and now you want her to abandon her free will?"

Odin looked thoughtfully at Thor, then he turned to Frigga. "Your mother and I must speak."

"Father – "

"Go Thor." Frigga said gently. "There is going to be a feast tonight and you must prepare."

He glared, but gave a kurt nod and left.

Frigga watched him go.

"I worry for him." She said. Odin got up from the throne and took her hand.

"He will come to his senses soon enough." Odin smiled. "I do not like Vadrun's sudden appearance here. It is too coincidental."

"You think he had help." Frigga said.

"I believe that his desire for Sif would not have been enough to risk crossing realms. He was also remarkably well informed as to the lady Felicity's position at court."

"You believe someone has been passing along information." Frigga said. "Amora."

"Amora is definitely involved, but she is not informed of the different shielded passes between realms."

"Sigyn." Frigga sat on the throne. "She must have gotten the information from Loki."

Odin nodded gravely. "If Vadrun has gotten word of Felicity's powers…such a story would spread like wildfire."

"Perhaps to the ears of a certain Celestial." Frigga put her face in her hands.

Odin nodded.


	16. Chapter 16

That night's feast was a lot more subdued than the celebratory feast Felicity had had on her first night in Asgard. As Vadrun was a royal guest, Felicity did not have to sit at the high table. Instead she was sitting with The Warriors 3 and Sif. Vadrun sat next to Frigga and leered at Felicity.

"Someone should teach him some manners." Fandral growled as he stabbed at his food. "That is no way to look at a lady."

"Weren't you looking at Lady Mithra the exact same way yesterday?" Felicity asked.

"Maybe…but I respect her." Fandral said.

"Just like you respected Lady Layla?" Sif commented dryly.

"Lady Sandrine." Hogun said.

"Lady Frista." Volstagg grinned

"Lady Una." Felicity smirked.

Fandral rolled his eyes. "So I'm a little…enthusiastic in my respect."

"That was only the list since I've met you." Felicity rolled her eyes. "Enthusiastic doesn't seem to cover it."

"I only partake in what is offered to me." Fandral ducked as Sif tossed a piece of bread at him. "It is hardly my fault the women adore me so." He glared back at Vadrun. "If half of the rumors about our honored guest are true he should be drawn and quartered."

Hogun shifted uncomfortably. Fandral looked at him. "You served in the Vanaheim palace. Is it true he has a special room where he…entertains his ladies?"

"I cannot say." Hogun looked quietly at his plate.

"They say he once kept a woman trapped in there for days." Fandral growled. "All the servant girls have marks that no one can truly explain, but none will speak out against him because they're too frightened."

"If this is true than being quartered is too gentle a punishment for him." Volstagg growled.

"I agree." Felicity said. "How about being tied to five horses going in five different directions?"

Sif laughed. "Oh, I do enjoy the way you think."

"I am confused." Volstagg tilted his head. "Wouldn't tying the victim's head to one of the horses shorten the length of the punishment?"

"I do not believe that the Lady meant the head above your shoulders." Hogun said as he took a drink from his cup. Understanding dawned on Volstagg's head, quickly followed by a look of horror. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"Where's Gudrun tonight?" Felicity asked.

"She didn't want the children to be here." Volstagg looked at the high table. "In truth I almost did not attend myself."

"What changed your mind?"

"It would not do for any of the court to appear to waver in their support of the crown." Volstagg. He gave Felicity a small smile. "And while I am aware that you are capable of defending yourself, I hope you'll forgive an old warrior his eccentricities." He patted her on the shoulder. "As a father of young girls I am fully aware that I will eventually have to teach some young boys some manners. As such, I dearly wish to gut him for his unseemly lack of respect for you. And for his responsibility in…" he paused to look at Sif. "other matters"

Felicity felt her throat tighten. Volstagg's acceptance of her as a surrogate daughter meant more to her than she could express. "Thank you." She finally managed to say, while Sif gave a small nod.

"I believe they are beginning the music." Fandral remarked. At the high table, Felicity could see Vadrun get up and begin walking towards their table. His eyes had a determined look. Thor saw this and got up to follow him, but was unable to intercept him before he reached the table.

"My lady." Vadrun gave a bow, which would probably have seemed courteous, had anyone else done it. He seemed to be mocking her. "I hope that you would do me the honor of gracing me with a dance." It wasn't a request and this pissed Felicity off. She didn't care who he thought he was; he wasn't going to order her to dance with him.

"I'm a terrible dancer." She gave him a fake smile. "I have a dangerous habit of stepping on people's toes. I'm sure you can find someone who's a better match."

"I hardly believe that someone of your stature could do much damage." Vadrun's eyes glittered dangerously. He clearly did not like being refused. "I believe you and I would make truly exceptional dance partners."

"As tempting as that offer sounds." Felicity's eyes narrowed. "I'll pass." She turned back to her plate.

"That's the polite Midgardian of saying she'd rather challenge a bilgeschnipe to a wrestling contest." Thor came to stand behind Felicity. Putting a hand on her shoulder he gave her a small smile. Felicity looked up at him.

"Bilgesnipe?" she mouthed.

"Later." Thor whispered.

"I was simply asking her to dance." Vadrun bristled at the way they were ignoring him. "I didn't realize that you spoke for her."

"The lady has spoken." Thor crossed his arms. "In addition to stepping on people's toes she has a nasty habit of tossing them to the opposite side of a room when they cross her."

"Is that so?" Vadrun said through gritted teeth.

"Ask the Lady Amora if you do not believe him." Sif hissed. "After all, you and she used to be so close."

A vein jumped in Vadrun's neck, but otherwise there was no indication that he had caught on to the implication. He turned to face Sif with a perverted smile which practically dripped poison. "I have not had the pleasure of making more than an acquaintance of the lady in question."

"Then this would be the perfect opportunity to do so." Thor said. He held out his hand to Felicity. She took it and he began to lead her away from the table.

"I thought you said she didn't dance." Vadrun called after them.

"She only dances with those she trusts." Thor said. "Anyone else risks a trip to the healers."

"Thank you." Felicity said as they began to dance.

"I'd say you were handling him quite well." Thor smiled. "None the less, I would feel more comfortable if you could find a way to stay away from him."

"He's going to swoop in as soon as you find a new dance partner." Felicity bit her lip. Thor gave a chuckle.

"Well that isn't going to happen."

"Why not?" Felicity looked at him in confusion. He dipped her. Pulling her back up he grinned. "Because I do not plan to give him the opportunity to do so." He looked at her nervously. "Unless you object to dancing with me for the rest of the night?"

"Well Sif and I were planning on doing a romantic waltz together." Felicity smirked. "But I guess I can clear my dance card."

Thor smiled and they continued to move in silence. Around them, other couples had made their way to the floor. Thor could even see his mother attempting to convince his father to join in. And Vadrun…was still looking at Felicity.

"You'd think he'd be smart enough to take a hint." She muttered. Catching the confused look on Thor's face she clarified. "That I'm not interested in him."

"He wishes to marry you." Thor muttered. Felicity stiffened.

"He WHAT!?"

"Bring your voice down." Thor looked around as people began to stare. "He asked my father for your hand in marriage. But never fear." He added quickly when he saw the anger in Felicity's expression. "My father will not allow it."

"How horribly Medieval. Do you really think he's going to back down just because your father says so?" Felicity hissed.

"All you have to do is find a suitable husband and – "

"Are you kidding me?" Felicity stepped back.

"Or pretend to find one." Thor said sheepishly.

"I am not faking an engagement because some creepy pervert doesn't understand the concept of the word no." Before Thor could stop her she'd pulled away and walked straight over to Vadrun. Thor sighed and followed.

"I see you've changed your mind." Vadrun smirked. Felicity grabbed the wine glass from his hand and threw it in his face.

"Let's make something painfully clear." Felicity hissed. "I am not for sale. I am not a pawn to be used in anyone's game. And if I ever do get married it certainly won't be to a manipulative jerk like you."

Vadrun looked taken aback, then he glared at Thor. "I am a guest in your house. Have you nothing to say?"

Thor gave a shrug. "As I pointed out earlier, the lady speaks for herself. On Asgard it is customary to have both parties be willing to enter a match. She is fully within her rights to reject your proposal."

"On Vanaheim the women know their place."

"Perhaps that is why you have never been successful in your struggles against Asgard?" Sif commented dryly.

"There is nothing but peace between our people." Vadrun growled. "Though that could soon change."

"Is that a threat?" Thor retorted. Felicity put a hand on his arm. Stepping forward she faced Vadrun.

"Seeing as I'm not Asgardian, my turning you down shouldn't affect Vanaheim's relationship with Asgard." She said. "I'm sorry Prince Vadrun, but we are too different. It wouldn't work out between us." She resented having to pander to his ego, but she didn't want to start a war.

"I believe tensions are running high." Odin had arrived. "The lady Felicity has recently suffered a great loss and it would be unwise to pressure her. As she has turned down your offer I suggest you find a different lady."

Vadrun nodded curtly. "I find myself fatigued after my long journey. Perhaps I should retire for the night."

They all watched as he turned and left.

"Let us hope that his father's health does not fail." Thor growled. "I fear the day he ascends to the throne of Vanaheim. I suggest we post a guard around the lady's door tonight."

"That would draw too much attention." Odin said simply. He pulled Felicity and Thor aside where they could speak privately. Sif followed.

"I could stand guard inside her chambers." She offered. "It wouldn't arouse suspicion."

"I'll join you." Thor said.

"That would cause a scandal." Odin shook his head. "I believe that together, Sif and Felicity are more than capable of facing any threat which they may encounter."

Felicity and Sif grinned.

"Sleepover!" Felicity said.

"What is a sleep over?"

"Midgardian tradition." Felicity linked her arm through Sif's. "We can share stories, snack, braid each other's hair, and talk about boys."

"Perhaps Thor might be better suited for this task." Sif rolled her eyes. But Thor saw her swipe a few desserts from a table as she passed.

* * *

Vadrun shut the door to his chambers.

"Well that was a resounding success." He turned to find Amora sitting on his bed. "You not only managed to have her despise you, but she rejected you in front of the entire court."

"It is hardly my fault that Sif has been twisting her mind." Vadrun frowned. "What would you suggest? Your tactics have worked so well on Thor; how many centuries has he rejected you?"

Amora huffed. "If you're going to be so unkind then I won't tell you the important information I have gained."

Vadrun sat next to her. "What information?"

Amora turned her face defiantly.

"Amora." Vadrun gripped her throat. "What. Information?"

"You wouldn't hurt me." Amora grinned. Vadrun leaned so his forehead was touching hers.

"Perhaps," He said, his fingers caressing her throat. "But I have had a few lonely years. There's no telling how much that can change a man."

"Thor destroying the Bifrost was a difficult obstacle." Amora sighed.

"I believed Sigyn had better control over Loki." Vadrun frowned.

"No one could have anticipated that he was a frost giant." Amora frowned. "And Sigyn made an elementary mistake; she fell in love with her mark. Thankfully she was able to gain the location of the passages between realms." Which will be useful considering what I know." She gave a triumphant smirk at Vadrun's eager expression. "You may tell our associate that it is indeed as he suspected; the lady Felicity is not the simple Midgardian woman she appears to be and has harnessed the power of one of the infinity stones."

Vadrun closed his eyes as a shiver of excitement went through him. "This is great news indeed. I will send a message to Gamiel at once."

"Immediately?" Amora looked at him coyly. "Bringing you such wonderful news should gain me some type of reward." Vadrun gripped her and tossed her higher up on the bed so she was lying face down.

"Indeed." He growled, tearing off her clothes and holding her down by her throat. "Let us celebrate our impending success."

* * *

"These are so good." Felicity said as she ate one of the tarts Sif had brought. She was sitting on the floor of her receiving room with her back to the couch. Sif was sitting behind her, braiding her hair.

"So tell me Felicity. Does anyone on Asgard catch your fancy?" She grinned as Felicity turned to look at her in surprise. "Is not a part of this sleep over talking about boys?"

"Yeah, but I didn't think you'd go for it." Felicity admitted.

"Well marriage seems to be an important topic these days." Sif gave her hair a playful tug. "You can trust me."

Felicity bit her lip. "There's someone here I'm starting to care about, but it's confusing for…so many reasons. He's not the type to want to be with someone like me. And considering my record he might be better off staying away."

Sif looked her, interested. "Is there someone on Midgard who still holds claim to your heart?"

Felicity sighed. "It's stupid because I'll probably never see him again and he's definitely moved on by now and he didn't want to be with me in the first place." Sif raised an eyebrow. Easing herself off the couch, she sat next to Felicity.

"Tell me about him."

Felicity took a deep breath. "Well, it started about 2 years ago when Oliver Queen walked into my office with a bullet riddled laptop and a bogus excuse about a spilled latte…" Sif listened for the next half hour as Felicity related the story of how she had met, grown fond of and eventually fallen in love with Oliver Queen. Unbeknown to both Felicity and Sif, someone else was leaning out of the window of the room directly above and was listening to the tale with rapt attention.


	17. Chapter 17

Thor left the feast soon after Felicity and Sif. He found no enjoyment in the usual revelry his friends were taking part in. Silently he slipped through the darkened halls of the palace to his chambers. Alone he contemplated the previous day. The mud battle with Felicity and Sif that morning had been fun. Felicity had appeared lighter than he had seen her since she learned of the Canary's death. Of course Vadrun had to arrive and spoil that minute moment of happiness. That snake had an irritating habit of turning up when he was least welcome.

Thor's temper rose when he remembered the way Vadrun had attempted to bully Felicity into dancing with him. The man was going to be trouble. Especially after such a public rejection. Thor felt a small measure of pride at the way Felicity had rebuffed Vadrun. The drink in the face had been a good touch. He sighed to himself. It was a pity that he had only danced with her a short while. He had told Felicity that he had done it because he was protecting her from Vadrun, but in truth his reasons were a lot less honorable. He had wanted her close and he had been angry at the thought of anyone, even Fandral or Hogun or Volstagg, dancing with her. Her joke about waltzing with Sif had sparked a moment of jealousy for which he was deeply ashamed. Leaning against his window frame he looked out at the grounds and tried to make sense of his growing feelings for Felicity. That's when he heard the voices.

"So tell me Felicity, does anyone on Asgard catch your fancy?"

It was Sif and Felicity. He looked down. The room underneath him must be Felicity's. He listen as Felicity explained that there was some one she was beginning to care for, but that it was complicated. Thor frowned; who was this man? He quickly contemplated all the men Felicity had contact with since coming to Asgard. She had been spending a lot of time at the Bifrost. Could it be Heimdall? And how could she believe that the man in question didn't return her feelings? Then Sif asked a question that had Thor leaning out of the window, straining to hear the answer.

"Is there someone on Midgard who still holds claim to your heart?"

Felicity began to explain how she first met Oliver Queen and how her affection for him grew. He heard the pain in her voice as she explained the "Russia Incident", the return of Sara Lance, and finally the arrival of Slade Wilson and Oliver's declaration of love for her only to ignore it afterwards. Thor glared out his window. Her feelings for the mystery Asgardian were clearly tainted by the insecurities she felt as a result of her tumultuous relationship with Oliver. His constant pushing her to the side in favor of others had clearly made her feel unworthy of love. Then he remembered Queen's last words to Felicity before she had left for Asgard.

"I meant it." The coward had been confessing his affection for her after he knew there was no possible way for him to have to act on his words. Or he meant his words as a last plea to keep Felicity on Midgard. The hypocrisy of Oliver keeping Felicity at arm's length, yet attempting to keep her for himself made Thor grind his teeth. Queen was fortunate that the Bifrost was damaged, otherwise he'd have received an angry visit. Thor smirked as he contemplated how a bow would hold up against Mjolnir. His fingers twitched and Mjolnir flew into his hand. There was a thunderclap and a flash of lightning in the sky.

"What was that?" He heard Felicity say.

"Thor probably whipped out his hammer to deliver a pounding." Sif responded dryly. There was a pause, then both women burst out laughing. Though they couldn't see him, Thor blushed.

"That sounds like something I would say." Felicity said. "It's a miracle I haven't said something similar while he's around."

"Oh? Do you often think about Thor's hammer?" Sif asked innocently; causing a fresh wave of giggles.

"I mean it's impressive. It shoots lightning and….I MEANT MJOLNIR."

Thor heard a crash and supposed that Sif had fallen down in laughter. He shifted uncomfortably. He did not like the way this conversation was going.

"Do you think about Thor's hammer?" Felicity retorted.

"No, I've seen both." Thor could hear Sif's smirk. His eyes widened; surely she wouldn't tell Felicity THAT story.

"There was a time when Mjolnir could be wielded by almost anyone. It wasn't until Odin banished Thor to Midgard that it began being linked to a person's worthiness of wielding it." Sif began. Thor groaned, of course she was going to share it.

"Laufrey, the king of the frost giants had been defeated, but the tension between Asgard and Jotenheim were still high. Periodically there would be small skirmishes, but nothing truly serious. At the time of this particular event, Thor was about 300 years old. Laufrey stole Mjolnir and demanded Frigga's hand in marriage in exchange. Odin refused. Thor, however, was desperate to get Mjolnir back. Then Loki came up with a plan." Sif paused for dramatic effect. Thor internally cursed her for taking enjoyment from recounting this tale and vowed to get revenge in training the next day.

"A direct attack would cause a long and bloody war which neither side wanted. Trickery would be the least violent option. Loki sent word to Laufrey telling him that they were acquiescing to his demands. But instead of sending Lady Frigga, they sent a decoy."

"You?" Felicity asked.

"No. I came along as one of the lady's servants." Sif put a sarcastic emphasis on the word lady. Thor grit his teeth.

"Then who?" Felicity asked.

"Thor."

"WHAT? No way!" Felicity sounded delighted.

"We dressed him in a traditional Asgardian wedding gown. He made quite an ugly bride so we were forced to veil him. Then Loki had to add an illusion spell to make it believable. Thor kept his veil through the entire celebratory feast. He was leered at by every frost giant in Jotenheim. Loki and I were there to explain any…eccentricities the lady Frigga displayed. It wasn't until the beginning of the actual ceremony that Laufrey presented his blushing bride with her wedding present."

"Mjolnir."

"Exactly. Thor tore off his veil and with Loki and my help he fought his way out of the banquet hall and the palace to where Heimdall could take us back to Asgard. He might have fought longer except he suffered, what you would call a wardrobe malfunction, during the battle. He was too embarrassed to stay longer than was necessary. He tripped over his skirts and tore them clean off."

Felicity was laughing hysterically.

"And that is how I saw the mighty hammer of Thor." Sif finished.

"Boys and their toys." Felicity finally said when she'd sufficiently caught her breath.

"Indeed." Sif grinned.

"Sooo. Is his hammer really…mighty?" new giggles.

"Well I've seen better, but it should be noted that Jotenheim is quite cold. It is the home of the frost giants after all. Perhaps it was not done justice."

"Story time is fun. And informative." Felicity remarked.

"And just how do you plan on using this new found information?" Sif asked

"Well for starters I don't think I'll be able to look Thor in the face." Felicity chuckled

"Perhaps you should look down then." Sif said pensively.

"Pretty sure that would make things worse." Felicity giggled. "I would pretty much destroy my non hammer related innuendoes record."

"It would be worth it to see the look on his face." Sif remarked.

Thor shook his head. He'd heard enough. He'd leave them to their sleep over as Felicity had called it.

* * *

Sif woke up first. She answered a knocking at the door.

"The lady Frigga has had the lady Felicity's breakfast delivered and bids me tell her that she need not attend her lesson this morning." The servant said, handing Sif a tray.

"Thank you." Sif brought it in and put it on the table in the center of the room. Felicity had fallen asleep on one of the couches last night. Sif gently shook her shoulder.

"Rise, Felicity. I have a training session, but I do not wish to leave you alone until you are awake."

"Five more minutes." Felicity grumbled. She reached out and began fumbling for her glasses.

"Do those strange pieces of glass allow you to see?" Sif asked.

"Yeah, I've been nearsighted since I was four." Felicity yawned and sat up. "I don't know how I'm going to keep my prescription up to date though. I haven't seen any eye doctors around the town."

"Will you permit me to try something?" Sif held out her hands. Felicity nodded. "Close your eyes." Sif placed her fingertips lightly on Felicity's eyelids. Felicity felt a warm feeling in the front of her skull, but it was pleasant. Like sunshine. Then Sif's fingers were gone. Felicity opened her eyes and blinked. Her vision was clear. In fact she could never remember having seen anything like this. She looked around her room and began to see colors she never even knew existed. Turning back to Sif, she beamed. "How? What?"

"Before Haldor began my battle training, I trained with Frigga. My specialty was healing." Sif grinned.

"But I've never, ever seen anything like this before. There…I don't even know the name for some of these colors." Felicity looked around in wonder.

"Perhaps it is linked to your power?" Sif suggested. "It is my understanding that Midgardians do not see as many colors as Asgardians. Perhaps you are seeing as we do." She held out her hand and led Felicity over to a mirror in her room. "This is how Thor sees you." She said. "It is no wonder that he loves you."

Felicity got over of the initial shock of her strange reflection only to be hit with the meaning of Sif's words. "He…what?"

Sif grinned. "I have never seen Thor look at anyone the way he looks upon you. And I believe you care for him as well."

"I."

"You wear your heart openly. It is a brave and noble quality; one that he and you share. You are more than worthy of his affection, Felicity." Sif put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Never doubt that. It is up to him to prove that he is worthy of you."

"Thanks Sif."

Sif nodded. "Anytime you want another Sleepover, I wouldn't be opposed to the idea." Then she left.

Felicity spent a few minutes processing what Sif had told her and her newfound sight. Her super eyesight was probably a result of her emerging Celestial DNA. When Sif used magic to heal her, she must have triggered something. Felicity backed up to get a better look at her new reflection, and tripped over her skirt. She fell to the ground and landed right next to the center table and came face to face with the largest spider she'd ever seen.

* * *

Thor was woken by an ear shattering shriek. He'd fallen asleep with his door open in order to be able to hear any noises from the windows of his outer chamber. He blinked, confused for a few minutes, then he heard crashes. Summoning Mjolnir he jumped out his window and swung down into Felicity's chambers. Felicity was blasting the walls. Her furniture was over turned and there was food everywhere.

"What is going on?" He asked.

"Behind you." She shouted. He ducked as a large black furry object whizzed by his face. Gripping Mjolnir he knocked the black shape towards a wall where it collapsed. Moving closer to inspect he snorted.

"It is only a simple spider my lady." He chuckled. "Admittedly a vicious one, but mostly harmless."

"HARMLESS?" Felicity shouted.

"Do you not have spiders on Midgard?"

"Yes, but they don't tend to be the size of a cat." Felicity looked at the creature in horror. "It tried to kill me."

"It was simply defending itself." Thor chuckled as he picked the spider up and tossed it out the window.

"From now on I'm sleeping with those windows locked." Felicity glared. "I don't want any more unwelcome visitors in my room at night. Not that you're unwelcome. I mean I'm very grateful that you got rid of that thing. But I don't want anything creepy sneaking in. not that you sneak or are creepy or that I think you would ever come into my room at night…3…2…1. How did you get here so fast?"

"My chambers are just above yours." Thor looked at her curiously. Felicity's eyes were wide and she was looking at him as though she was seeing him for the first time. "I heard you shouting and the commotion and I came to make sure you were alright. Are you unharmed?"

"Huh? Yeah I'm fine, I'm great."

"Are you sure?" Thor took a step forward and lifted her chin to inspect her. "You appear dazed."

"Sif zapped my eyes so I wouldn't need my glasses and now I have supervision and you are very beautiful and very shirtless." Felicity said, breathily. Thor looked down embarrassed.

"Well it's your lucky day, usually I dispense of pants while I sleep, but last night I made an exception." Thor smirked. He watched as Felicity's eyes widened and he knew that she was thinking about her conversation with Sif last night. Then she got a mischevious glint in her eyes which told him that she was definitely thinking about the previous night's revelations.

"Really, my prince?" She grinned. "Do you prefer night shirts…or gowns?"

"Sif is a marked woman." He growled. But Felicity wasn't paying attention to him. Her eyes were instead on the over turned table and ruined food tray.

"Um Thor? I'm not 100% familiar with Asgardian food, but I'm guessing it's not supposed to do that?" She pointed. The jug of juice was spilling onto the floor and had burned a hole in the wood of the table.

"No indeed it is not." Thor knelt down to inspect it. "It has been poisoned."

"What's all the commotion?" Frigga entered the room followed by Odin and Vadrun. They took in the strange scene; the scattered food, broken furniture, and Thor's lack of a shirt.

"This…" Felicity smiled nervously. "This isn't what it looks like."


	18. Chapter 18

When Felicity entered the throne room it was empty of all courtiers. Odin sat on the throne with Frigga next to him. Vadrun was standing in front with his arms crossed, glaring. Sif was also there, as was Heimdall. Felicity breathed a sigh of relief when she saw him. Heimdall had probably seen the entire incident and would tell Odin exactly what happened and more importantly what didn't. He could also tell them who'd put the poison in the juice.

Thor arrived right after Felicity. He'd gotten dressed quickly. He saw Felicity smiling when she noticed Heimdall's presence. So she had fallen for the gatekeeper. Focusing his jealousy, he directed all his anger at Vadrun.

"What is he doing here?"

"I was a witness to your shocking act of impropriety." Vadrun sneered. "The Midgardian whore has obviously charmed the prince."

"You're just pissed because I turned you down." Felicity glared.

"Silence, Jezebel." Vadrun said

"Another dishonorable word about the lady and I'll remove your tongue." Thor growled.

"There is no proof that anything improper occurred." Odin said before Vadrun could retort. "We must have all the facts before we leap to conclusions." He motioned to Sif. "You were charged with watching over the lady in her bedchamber, were you not?"

Sif nodded. "She stayed in her room the entire night. I left shortly before you arrived. Nothing improper happened."

"Not while you were there." Vadrun muttered. Sif glared at him.

"There simply wasn't enough time." She said evenly, trying to control her temper.

"So then how do you account for the condition of the room and Thor's presence and state of undress?" Vadrun countered.

"There was a spider." Felicity blurted.

"A spider?" Odin said, amused.

"A big one." Felicity clarified.

"Not that big." Thor muttered.

"By earth standards it's big." Felicity glared. "And whose side are you on?"

Thor held up his hands in surrender.

"Anyways, I screamed and tried to zap it, but it was too fast. A lot of furniture was knocked over, but that thing still kept moving and jumping around. Then Thor burst in, apparently his room is above mine, which I didn't know beforehand. And he knocked the spider out and tossed it out the window. That's when I noticed that the juice was drilling a hole in the table. Thor said it was poisoned and then you burst in and saw the mess and probably assumed that we'd done something indecent, which we didn't." Felicity explained. Odin turned towards Thor.

"I rushed out of bed when I heard the scream. As the lady explained there was a spider in her chambers."

"And your state of undress?" Vadrun said icily.

"At the time I was more concerned for the lady's safety than my own dignity." Thor glared at him. "I genuinely believed she was under attack. So I didn't pause to clothe myself."

"This story is highly unlikely." Vadrun crossed his arms skeptically. "I suggest we examine the lady to determine if her honor was compromised." He looked Felicity up and down deliberately. The sky darkened and thunder rumbled as Thor took a menacing step towards him.

"Examine?...Wait, oh you mean." Feliicty waved a hand over her middle. "My lady parts." She stage whispered. Vadrun glared at her. "Sorry to disappoint, but I'm definitely going to fail that test. Not because of Thor, but because of things I did before I got beamed over to Asgard. Women on Earth don't have the same standard of decency. And sometimes the most unlikely stories are the truth." Felicity said.

"I withdraw my request in regards to this harlot." Vadrun said. "I will not marry someone who has been so obviously despoiled."

"Despoiled?" Felicity said while Thor growled. "Harlot?"

"Oh please. And I'm sure you're just a blushing virgin." Felicity retorted. "You're a disgusting hypocrite. I'm not going to apologize for what I did before I got to Asgard. Some of it was quite fun. But I did not have sex with Thor."

"Say one more word against the Lady and I will make it so you will never be able to be with another woman." Thor growled.

"There is an easy way to remedy this situation." Odin turned to Heimdall. "Did you see what transpired in the Lady's chambers?"

Heimdall chuckled. "It happened exactly as the lady and Thor explained." His expression darkened. "However shortly before this transpired, the palace was cloaked from view."

"Cloaked? Like Klingons?" Felicity said. Everyone looked at her confused. "It….would take too long to explain." She muttered. Heimdall gave her a small smile before continuing.

"But this is a trivial matter and would most likely bore our honored guest." He inclined his head to Vadrun.

"I wish to stay." Vadrun growled.

"In fact my eyesight might be waning, and I could have been mistaken." Heimdall said. He turned to Felicity. "I believe the Romulans also employed the use of cloaking devices." He gave her a pointed look and mouthed "play along."

Catching on to his meaning, Felicity launched into a babble to end all babbles. "The Federation also tested one out on Commander Riker's old ship, the Pegasus. But that was in violation of a peace treaty they'd signed with the Romulans which stated that the Federation would never attempt to replicate cloaking technology. But the Klingons were Federation allies at that point so if they really wanted one, they could have borrowed one from them. But violating a treaty would have gone against the Klingon code of honor so they probably wouldn't have given it to them. I always wanted to learn Klingon, but I never had the time. Also I was already such a nerd in school and liking Star Trek was already isolating enough. No matter how interesting Next Gen was or how amazing Chris Pine looked in those Starfleet uniform pants. Plus I liked Vulcans a bit better than Klingons. Worf was cool, but Spock is Spock"

"STOP." Vadrun put his head in his hands. Throughout the babble his face had gone through various expressions of confusion, surprise and irritation. It had also grown steadily redder. "I have better things to do than listen to this…" he waved his hand disgustedly in Felicity's direction. "I will take my leave." He began walking out of the throne room.

"Well then I guess it's a good thing we're never getting married. Because babbling is part of the deal." Felicity called after him. Vadrun slammed the door to the throne room behind him.

"He won't take that last insult lightly." Thor muttered

Sif burst into laughter. "I did not understand half of the words which just came out of your mouth, but it was so entertaining watching Vadrun attempt to decipher them."

Felicity turned to Heimdall. "Trekkie?" she asked.

"Midgardian entertainment can be intriguing." He shrugged.

"Did you see who poisoned the juice?" She asked.

"No." He said. "The entire palace was hidden to me. I was not able to see who planted it."

"Who knew that you were sending breakfast to Lady Felicity's room, My Queen?" Sif turned to Frigga.

"I didn't." Frigga frowned.

"But the servant who brought it said you instructed her to bring Felicity breakfast and that her morning lesson was canceled." Sif insisted.

"Which servant?" Frigga asked.

"Nydia." Sif said.

"That is impossible." Frigga said. "Nydia was with me all morning, right until we heard the commotion in Felicity's room and I had her summon the palace guard."

"Does anyone know how to do a chameleon spell?" Felicity asked. "The sort of thing that would cause someone to take on the appearance of someone else or is there polyjuice potion lying around?"

"Glamor spells such as the one you describe are complex." Frigga frowned. "The amount of power it would take to not only replicate the person's appearance, but also their manner of speech…"

"But it isn't impossible." Felicity said. "You told me that sometimes extreme emotional stress can cause outburst of power beyond a person's normal ability."

"You have a suspect then?" Thor said.

"I've got a theory." Felicity said. "I read that Loki had the ability to completely change his appearance."

"Loki is locked in a magical prison." Thor said. "He cannot harm you, nor anyone."

"Not Loki." Felicity said. "Someone he was close to. He could have taught this skill to them."

"Sigyn." Sif said. "She was always very good at mixing potions. She could have easily created that poison."

"We have no proof." Odin said. "And how would she manage to cloak the palace from Heimdall's view?"

"That is a relatively simple spell once you have the knowledge." Frigga murmured. "But those types of spells are in books that are under lock and key…" She paused. "But I do remember Loki once looking through one of them."

"Summon Sigyn." Odin said.

* * *

Amora slipped silently out of the room behind Sif as she left. She'd been invisible, listening to the entire conversation. Frigga had been so focused on Felicity and Thor, she hadn't even sensed her presence and the gatekeeper was a blind as always. Soundlessly she moved through the halls until she found Vadrun's chambers.

"Sigyn has betrayed us." She said as she entered. "She attempted to assassinate the Midgardian whore."

Vadrun was sitting in a chair facing the side of the room.

"Is this true, my sweet?"

Sigyn was kneeling in front of him, hands bound behind her back. She was shaking.

"It is her fault Loki is imprisoned." She hissed. "Her and Thor. I wanted them both to suffer. You've seen the prince. These last few months he only has eyes for her. I wanted him to feel the suffering of someone talking away his love, just as I have. She needed to die and he needed to spend an eternity mourning her."

"As delicious as your cruel mind works, that punishment does not suit our purposes." Vadrun ran a hand through her hair. She shuddered against his touch. "Our associate wants her alive. We cannot have your anger towards her causing any more problems."

"There's more." Amora said, sitting in Vadrun's lap. "They know it was her. They are sending Sif to her room to collect her to stand before the king's justice."

"Well, that complicates matters." Vadrun murmured, still caressing Sigyn's hair.

"Please." Sigyn begged. "Have mercy."

"Of course my dear." Vadrun unbound her hands. Then he grabbed a wine glass from the table and handed it to her. "You've been so invaluable to our plans all these years." He said Sigyn sipped slowly from the glass. "Which is why it is such a shame I had to do this." Sigyn began choking. Her face turned purple and her eyes grew wide. She gasped but seemed unable to inhale. She tore at her throat. Amora watched with fascination as she watched Sigyn crumple to the floor, motionless.

"She was weak." Vadrun said simply. "We could not risk her endangering our operation, simply because of her petty jealousy. Make sure they find her in her chambers. Make it look like she did it to herself." He stood. "I will contact Gamiel. Taking Felicity to Vanaheim is going to be more difficult than originally anticipated. We might need his assistance." 

* * *

Felicity was looking out of her window. Shivering she jumped when the door slammed loudly.

"I apologize." Thor said. "I did not mean to startle you, but you didn't respond to my knocking."

"Sorry." Felicity mumbled as she turned to face the outside. She felt a rush of warmth as Thor placed his cloak over her shoulders. She looked at him in confusion.

"You were shivering." He said.

"It wasn't because of the cold." Felicity said. "I've seen so many things in the last 2 years that have been so fucked up." She laughed. "Alien invasions, crazy drug lords, psycho super soldiers. I've made friends only to have them die... Being afraid of that spider this morning was the most normal I've felt in a while. It was familiar. Which is, of course, why there was a poison attempt and a trial of decency; because being normal is apparently a crime."

Thor looked out towards the gardens. "They are searching for Lady Sigyn. We have found the ingredients she used to concoct the poison in her chambers. I expect they will find her soon, though Heimdall cannot see her." He paused. "It was fortunate that he was there to lend credence to our story this morning."

"Yeah." Felicity frowned. "They wouldn't have actually examined me right?"

"No." Thor said. "That is an out dated practice, Vadrun should never have suggested it."

"What would have happened if Heimdall wasn't there and they thought that my honor was defiled?" Felicity asked.

"I would have been forced to marry you." Thor said.

"Forced?" Felicity raised an eyebrow. "Well I apologize if being married to me seems like a punishment. Talk about outdated practices."

"I didn't mean…" Thor flushed. "I only meant that I would not presume to think you would want to marry me, seeing as you have feelings for Heimdall."

"Did you zap your brains with your hammer?" Felicity looked at him in shock. "Heimdall is a friend. And only my friend."

"But you spend so much time with him at the Bifrost."

"To check on my mom and Oliver and Team Arrow." Felicity said. "Not that they need me to."

"Why would you say that?" Thor frowned.

"Well mom misses me, but with Tony's help the team can work without me. Which is good, but …"

"You would have liked to feel as if you weren't so easily replaced." Thor watched as Felicity nodded. "I am sure Tony's toys are no match for your wit."

"Well I'm sure Laurel appreciates me not being there to make awkward sexual innuendoes around her boyfriend." Felicity muttered.

"Boyfriend?" Thor asked.

"She and Oliver bonded over Sara's death." Felicity glared. "Which is the most disgusting thing I've ever heard in my life."

"He is not worthy of you." Thor growled. He paused, then asked hesitantly. "You have had encounters with men?" Felicity rolled her eyes.

"Please don't say encounters. It sounds like I was abducted by aliens….which, if you want to get technical, did happen when you took me to Asgard. So I guess that means I had an encounter with you. Not a sexy one, but an encounter of the third, alien abducty kind. So you definitely want to rephrase that. Also if you're going to slut shame me, I will zap your ass all the way to the lake."

"No." Thor quickly threw up his hands. "I would never presume to…slut shame you. I just find this difficult."

"What?" Felicity asked.

"I would not have been adverse to a marriage of modesty with you." Thor said slowly. "I…find the idea of anyone else having you difficult to accept." He looked at the grounds. "But had you chosen Heimdall, I would have stepped aside and allowed it. After I had properly threatened him to protect your honor."

"Thor what are you trying to say?" Felicity could feel her heart pounding.

"I – "

"My lady." Fandral burst in. "Oh my apologies my prince, but we have located the Lady Sigyn."

"Have her brought to the throne room so she can be tried immediately." Thor growled as he made his way to the door.

"That won't be necessary…" Fandral hesitated. "She's dead. She was found in the grounds next to that spot she and Loki frequented."

"How?" Felicity asked.

"Poison. By her own hand." Fandral explained. "We found a wine glass still clutched in her hand.

Felicity felt tears rush to her eyes.

"She can no longer hurt you my lady." Thor said, quietly. He waved Fandral out. Felicity pulled his cloak tighter around her shoulders.

"She was lost." She said finally. "She must have really loved him and decided to take her anger at losing him out on me." She looked at Thor. "I'm sorry she's dead."

Thor came closer. "You are truly a remarkable woman Felicity Smoak."

She backed away. "I…need to process everything." She indicated her receiving room which was still a mess.

Thor nodded. "I will leave you."

"No, I…I don't want to be alone. Please." Felicity hung her head. She couldn't believe she was begging him to stay. What if he thought she was weak or needy?

"You are none of those things." Thor lifted her chin. "In truth I was planning on returning here once you'd gone to sleep to stand guard outside your chambers. It is never shameful to ask for what you need or want."

"I want you to stay." She said.

"Then I shall."

She fell asleep almost as soon as she lay down. Thor sat in the corner of her room and watched. Sif arrived a few moments later.

"The allfather predicted you wouldn't want to leave her side. I am here to ensure no acts of impropriety."

"Thank you, old friend." Thor said quietly. Sif was tense, angry. "What troubles you lady Sif?"

"I allowed the poison into her room." Sif whispered. "It would have been my fault if she died. I should have been on my guard, I…"

"You could not have known." Thor said. They stayed in silence for a while.

"Nydia is beside herself." Sif said. "She's ashamed that her image was used in an attempt to harm Felicity. We all seem to have grown quite attached to her."

"Yes."

"Have you told her?"

"What?" he frowned stubbornly.

Sif smiled. Looking back at Felicity's sleeping form she remarked. "She looks almost regal. She will make a fine princess, or queen." Then she walked out to stand guard in the antechamber of Felicity's rooms before Thor could respond.

* * *

On a space ship in another dimension Peter Quill woke up with a terrible headache. He opened his eyes to find himself face to face with a very angry raccoon.

"What the hell Quill?" Rocket growled. "You nearly woke half the galaxy."

"And you thought the solution was smacking me with a gun?" Peter rubbed his head.

"Well you'd be unconscious or you'd wake up. Either way you'd stop that screaming." Rocket hopped down and walked over to a chair opposite him.

"Who's Felicity?" He asked.

"This chick in my dream." Peter muttered.

"I am Groot."

"The tree is correct." Drax frowned. "It appears strange that you are dreaming of baby chickens with names."

"Chick means….never mind." Peter sighed. "Felicity is a woman not a bird."

"Oh great." Rocket groaned. "We're all up in the middle of the night because this idiot was having a sex dream."

"It wasn't a sex dream." Peter frowned as Gamora walked in. "This woman is in danger. I think I need to help her or something."

"How do you know?" Gamora asked.

"She was talking to some big blonde dude. I couldn't hear much, but someone mentioned poison. All I know is that I have this weird feeling that I'm supposed to help this woman."

"Any bright ideas as to where to find her?" Rocket crossed his arms. "Because I am not going door to door on every planet looking for some broad you saw in a dream. In case you haven't noticed the galaxy's kind of a big place."

"She's not in the galaxy."

"What?"

"She's in some alternate dimension." Peter said. Rocket's mouth hung open. He looked at Groot "I get it. This is Terran humor. You almost had me fooled until the whole alternate dimension thing."

"I'm not trying to fool anyone." Peter grumbled. "Look. We're not really doing anything right now, why don't we fly over to Terra and see if we can find some clues?"

"I thought you said she wasn't on Terra."

"I am Groot."

"She's from there." Peter said stubbornly.

"You just miss your home planet." Rocket grumbled. "This trip is a vacation for you. In case you haven't noticed. None of us can really go down planetside and do any investigating."

"We have to try." Peter said. "Whatever's coming after this woman is big and dangerous."

"Thanos?" Gamora asked.

"I don't know."

"There appear to be numerous things about this you do not know." Drax said. "I say we investigate. It would be dishonorable to not try to help this woman in need."

"WE DON'T EVEN KNOW IF SHE EXISTS." Rocket shouted.

"We're the guardians of the galaxy." Peter said. "It's our job to maintain order and if I'm right we're all in danger."

"Ronan gives us a stupid nickname and you turn it into a title. Just because we have matching outfits and saved one planet from a crazy man with a giant hammer, doesn't make us heroes. It makes us a bunch of lucky fashion challenged bastards." Rocket growled.

"I am Groot." Rocket glared at the pot where his small friend was currently residing.

"Traitor." He grumbled, turning to Peter; "When this goes south I'll be sure to say I told you so. Right before I shoot you."


	19. Chapter 19

"Terrans." Rocket grumbled as he watched the news stream they'd intercepted from a satellite. The ship was parked on the dark side of the moon, where they were sure no second grader with a telescope would accidentally see them. "This is the most boring pile of garbage I have ever seen in my life. Who cares about what ever a Kimye is?"

"Rocket." Peter grumbled.

"Your home planet is strange." Gamora commented. :"We will certainly not fit in."

"Do you even have a plan?" Rocket said.

"Yes." Peter said through gritted teeth. He pointed to the screen. "That's my plan."

The report showed a large building with a giant A on the front. Peter turned up the sound so they could hear.

"I'm Christine Everhart, standing outside the newly opened Avengers Tower. This team of heroes, who saved the earth from alien invasion, now live among us in this giant sky scraper behind me. We sat down with Tony Stark to get his insight on this newest development." The camera cut to a man in an old band shirt, jeans, and jacket leaning back in his seat.

"Mr. Stark, do you believe that housing your headquarters in the middle of Manhattan endangers the people around you?"

"Wow, you really aren't pulling your punches are you? The way I see it, the city was already attacked without having a group of superheroes living in it."

"So they will be living there?"

"We have quarters for them, but you can't really force them to do anything." Stark looked bored and had pulled out a cellphone.

"So what's it like, having Captain America as a roommate?" The reporter was clearly irritated with his ignoring her.

He snorted. "Shouldn't you be asking him what it's like having Iron man as a roommate?" He was still looking at his phone,

"There are reports that Thor left earth, never to return. What do you know about these rumors?"

"I don't pay attention to rumors." Stark sighed dramatically. "Unless they involve Pepper, those I refer to my army of lawyers."

"Is it true he kidnapped a woman and took her to Valhalla?" That seemed to get Stark's attention.

"He didn't kidnap anyone." Tony said. "And I'm pretty sure Valhalla is the afterlife. Do your research."

"But someone did leave with him." The reporter prompted. "There's a rumor about a blonde and – "

"You are reaching for a story." Tony rolled his eyes. "Next question. I'm a busy man and I don't have time to indulge your Norse god kidnap fantasies."

Rocket laughed. "This guy is your plan? He's an even bigger asshole than I am."

"He's more likely to believe us." Peter sighed.

"Did your dream girl tell you that?" Rocket retorted. "Funny how she's never given you any concrete directions. Or you know; actually asked for your help."

Peter ignored him. He'd been waking up every night dreaming of Felicity. In his dreams she seemed happy enough, but there was a growing sense of tension in each dream. Like an every approaching darkness.

"It's our best bet." Peter said. "I've been watching these reports. He works with people who have super human abilities and one of them is Viking guy."

"Viking guy?" Gamora asked. "The blond man from the visions?"

"Yeah, the news showed pictures of him in New York. Viking guy is connected to Felicity; which means that Tony Stark must have a way to find her." Peter stood. "We're going to beam down tonight. Directly into the Avengers tower."

"When you say we…" Rocket said.

"All of us." Drax said forcefully. "We are a team."

"I am Groot!"

"See? Groot likes my plan." Peter grinned.

"He just wants you to water him." Gamora muttered.

Tony was walking through his empty pent house. He'd been working in the lab with Bruce all day on the containment field. They were trying to build a giant shield which would hide Felicity's power from any outside sources. If it worked it would surround the world like a giant bubble and stop any Tesseract energy from being traceable from the outside.

"We're so close." He muttered. It didn't help that Queen was breathing down his neck every two seconds.

There was a rustling from the corner of the room.

"Natasha, I told you a thousand times, you don't need to use your spy…" he turned to see the strangest group of…beings? He'd ever encountered. "Security breach." He said weakly.

The man with the bug eyes stepped forward. "I'm Starlord." He clicked something behind his ears and the bizarre mask he was wearing disappeared revealing a human face. "And these are the Guardians of the Galaxy. This is Gamora." The green woman lifted her sword slightly in acknowledgement. "Drax, the destroyer." The big green and red man nodded. "Rocket Racoon." The raccoon frowned. "And this – "

"I am Groot!" the tree said waving his arms excitedly.

"The tree…the tree talked." Tony sat down on one of the couches. "The tree talks and it's named Groot."

"We need your help." Starlord said. "There's a Terran woman, her name is Felicity and she's in danger. We need to find her."

Tony tensed. "How do you know that and why do you think I can help you?"

"Do you know this woman?" Gamora said.

"Call me old fashioned, but the last aliens who came here tried to destroy civilization. I'm going to need a little more than a few introductions to make me trust you. Also how did you get past my security systems?" Tony glared. "Also who calls themselves Starlord?"

"His real name's Peter Quill and he's Terran like you." Rocket growled.

"The raccoon talks too." Tony looked around in horror. "How drunk am I?"

"We're not going to hurt you." Peter put away his weapon and held up his hands. "I keep having these dreams about a blonde woman named Felicity and I know that I'm meant to help her. She's in serious danger."

Tony got up and walked over to some screens. "JARVIS call Dr. Banner and have him come up here please. Tell him to bring Cap, Widow, and Hawkeye." Then he began pulling up pictures. He was worried about Felicity, but he had to be sure she was the blonde Peter was talking about. So he pulled up a picture of Sara Lance, one of Felicity, and one of Natasha in disguise as a blonde. Pointing to Sara he asked. "Is this the blonde from your dreams?"

Peter walked over. "No." He pointed to Felicity. "This is her, except she was wearing some kind of Cinderella dress."

"And you expect me to believe that you saw her in a dream?" Tony said. "If you were really human, you wouldn't be having prophetic visions."

"Then perhaps these visions come from his nonhuman parent." Gamora said.

"Non…what?" Tony's eyes widened.

"Nova prime said your father was a being of a race older than anything she'd ever seen. It is possible that they were capable of visions."

"How did Nova whatever find out that you weren't human?" Tony began examining Peter, poking him.

Peter sighed. "We saved her planet from an evil warlord who had an extremely powerful orb. I grabbed the orb and held on to it without disintegrating. Apparently a Terran couldn't have survived the power overload. She ran some tests and…" he waved his hand dismissively. "Some weird science stuff. I wasn't paying attention."

"You handled an extremely powerful orb." Tony said thoughtfully. "Something which no ordinary human would be able to handle and yet, you could."

Just then Bruce, Steve, Natasha, and Clint entered.

"Stark, I'm all for team bonding, but if you wanted a pajama party you should at least given us some warning." Clint yawned. Then he caught sight of the guardians.

"These are the Guardians of the Galaxy." Tony sighed. "They say they have information about Felicity." He turned to Peter. "Would you mind giving Dr. Banner a blood sample? I have a theory I want to test."

"I went through enough tests on Nova prime." Peter said.

"If I'm right, which, let's face it; I probably am, then you may have way more in common with Felicity than you know. Plus, it might give me a reason to trust you and not have the Avengers kick your ass back to the planet of the tree people or where ever grout comes from." Tony pulled out a syringe and handed it to Bruce.

"I am Groot!"

Steve knelt down and held out his hand. "Nice to meet you Groot, I'm Steve Rogers."

"I….am Groot!" Groot smiled and held out one of his branches. He bounced around excitedly. Steve gave a small smile and looked at Peter in confusion.

"He says that a lot." Peter looked at him with interest. "When you say Steve Rogers…."

* * *

Oliver walked into the lair. Digg and Roy were standing on opposite sides of Felicity's empty chair.

"Got your text. What's the emergency?"

"Sara's body is missing." Digg held out a letter. "We found this on the desk."

Oliver tore it open.

Dear Ollie,

By the time you read this I'll be long gone and I'll have taken Sara's body with me. Don't bother trying to find me, you won't. What we did was a mistake. It was wrong to Sara and Tommy, but most importantly it was wrong to you and me. We did what we did because it was easy, but we're poison together. I wanted to forget the pain of Sara's death and you wanted to forget that you'd rather have been with someone else. You said her name after you fell asleep. You need to be honest with yourself. I met Nyssa. She says she believes she can bring Sara back. I believe her and even if it doesn't work I have to at least try. I love you,

Laurel

"Laurel took her." Oliver said. "She left with Nyssa, we need to find a way to track – "

There was a loud crash. An image of a man appeared. His face was gaunt, his hair long and he was in chains, leaning on the ground. The image flickered. Oliver, Digg, and Roy jumped back in surprise. Digg drew his gun as Oliver and Roy scrambled for their bows.

"Please." The man begged. "There isn't much time."

"Who are you?" Oliver growled.

"My daughter, she needs help. She's not safe."

"Who's your daughter?" Digg asked.

"Felicity…Smoak." The man gasped. "My brother hunts her. Her and his son Peter. They are both in danger. I don't have much time before he finds out I've contacted you. Get Donna to safety. Find Felicity. Keep her safe." Then he disappeared.

"What…the fuck?" Roy said.

JARVIS broke the silence. "Mr. Queen, Mr. Stark would like to speak with you."

"Queenie, you told me to keep you updated on anything portraying to Smoakie and boy do I have news for you." Tony's face appeared on the screen.

"We just got a visit from her father. He said she and some guy named Peter are in danger." Oliver crossed his arms.

"That's me!" A man Oliver didn't recognize jumped into the frame. "I'm Peter." Behind him Oliver heard someone say "I am Groot."

Tony rolled his eyes. "How soon can you get to New York?"

"Couple hours…" Oliver said

"I can get them here faster." Peter said. "Gamora, go."

There was a flash of light behind Peter. Then a few seconds later a woman with green skin appeared in the lair.

"Hold on to my hands." She ordered. Digg's eyes popped out of his head. Oliver had to take his hand and place it on Gamora's forearm. Roy put his hand on her shoulder. She waited until all three were holding on to push a few buttons on her belt. There was a pulling sensation. Then they were in the pent house of Stark Tower.

"Guardians of the Galaxy meet Team Arrow. Team Arrow; Guardians." Tony waved to the weird looking group assembled.

"And that's Captain America!" Peter was bouncing. "How cool is that? I used to have a lunch box with his face on it." Steve shifted uncomfortably.

"Bruce." Tony said, bringing Oliver's attention to Dr. Banner who was coming back into the room. "Care to share these results with the class." He waved his tablet excitedly.

"Peter's DNA results are…different." Bruce said. "But not exactly new." He pulled them up on the screen. "They match up with some other results we've recently seen; Felicity. In fact they're so similar they might be family."

"That's what that guy said." Roy blurted.

"You're going to have to be more specific Harper." Tony said. "that guy describes half the people on this planet."

"Felicity's father. He kinda poofed into the Arrow Cave. He said his brother wanted his son and Felicity. If you're the Peter he mentioned, it makes you Felicity's cousin."

"Ten points to house Stark!" Tony said. "I called it."

"You thought they were the same species, not that they were family." Natasha rolled her eyes.

"Also you're crossing the streams with your references." Clint added.

"Felicity went to Asgard to be safe." Oliver said. "Now we find out that everyone, even the saviors of the universe."

"Guardians of the galaxy." Peter corrected.

"Whatever…know about her?" Oliver was furious. "What was the point of sending her away with Thor if it came to nothing?"

"Whatever Peter and Felicity are, they're apparently an old species according to…" Tony snapped. "Alpha Centauri"

"Nova Prime." Peter rolled his eyes.

"Which means we're dealing with unknown forces here. Felicity being on Asgard is still the best bet for her." Tony frowned. "Plus we have absolutely no way of contacting her or brining her back. You're just pissed because Thor is prettier than you."

"Ass guard?" Rocket said.

"Realm which houses the gods of Norse mythology." Clint said. "And I'd like to point out that even I didn't make that joke."

"Gods?" Drax looked at Peter. "Does he jest? I have found your species prone to lying."

"Just because we use creative descriptions doesn't make us liars." Peter said. "So my cousin's living among gods. My family's moving up in the world….universe?"

"We have to find a way to warn her." Oliver said.

"What do you suggest? Having someone run up to the roof and yell until they catch Heimdall's attention?" Clint snarked.

"Hemdali?" Roy asked.

"Heimdall; he's the gate keeper between realms. He's all seeing." Clint explained. Everyone looked at him in shocked silence. "Loki explained it to me when I was under his control." His face darkened and he looked away. Natasha put a hand on his shoulder.

Tony rolled his eyes, "That's the stupid – "

"Actually." Bruce interjected. "That's a good suggestion. We might not be able to talk to her, but Heimdall can warn Thor and the rest of the Asgardians."

"Thor being Viking dude." Peter said. "I've seen him in my dreams…with Felicity. From what I see he cares about her."

Oliver's jaw clenched. Peter raised an eye brow.

"We need to get Felicity's mom to safety. Felicity's dad said she was in danger. Her name is Donna." Oliver said.

"Well there's nothing more any of us can do tonight. I'll have a private jet sent out to collect Felicity's mom. Clint, since it was your brilliant idea, you go up to the room and howl at the moon. Team Arrow have their own rooms. We've got guest apartments for the rest of you." Tony looked at Groot. "Or a new planter if you want it."

"I am Groot."

"I'll take that as a maybe."

Peter looked at his team. "We need to go and get some stuff from our ship. We'll be back in 10." Then they disappeared.

"I have got to get him to show me his teleporting machine." Tony grinned. "The things I could build with that knowledge."

Clint and Steve shared a look. "Anyone else getting a villain vibe from Tin man?" Clint asked.

"Think of the potential advances. The possibilities," Tony was making his way towards the elevators. "I need to go to my lab."

Steve sighed. "Tasha."

Natasha knocked Tony out. "He'll thank us tomorrow."

"Pepper made us promise to have him sleep while she's in Malibu." Clint explained as he and Steve carried him over to the couch. "I'm more afraid of her than I am of him." He stretched and pointed to the ceiling. "To the roof." He left.

Natasha smirked. "When Starlord and co show up tell them to ask JARVIS to tell them where their rooms are."

Digg and Roy looked at each other. "Shot not." Roy said running for the elevator. Digg looked at Oliver. "No way man, I've got to call Lyla and explain this." He shook his head as he left. Oliver was left alone with the unconscious Tony. A few minutes later, the guardians came back.

"JARVIS will tell you how to get to your rooms. Just talk to the ceiling." Oliver said before going to leave. Peter grabbed his arm and held him back.

"Go, I'll catch up with you." He said to the rest of his team. Waiting until they left he turned to Oliver. "Do you have the hots for my cousin?"

"What?"

"I saw your face when Tony mentioned Viking dude. Do. You. Like. My. Cousin." Peter said slowly.

Oliver glared. "What's it to you?"

"She's my cousin."

"You didn't know that until about 30 minutes ago." Oliver rolled his eyes.

"So?" Peter glared. "She's been showing up in my dreams every night. I care what happens to her."

"Maybe you should be directing this protectiveness towards Thor." Oliver glared. "He's the one who's been alone with her for the last 6 months." he left.

Peter looked up. "British ceiling?"

"Yes Mr. Quill."

"Why did Felicity have to leave for Asgard?" Peter asked.

"That's a fun story." Clint said as he came back in. "Pour me some of Stark's bourbon and I'll tell it. Though I will admit to being under the influence of mind control through most of it."

* * *

Felicity woke up with a start. Thor was sprawled out on the chair across from her bed, snoring. He was loud. She threw one of her pillows at him.

"What..." he sat up and looked down at the pillow, confused. "You attacked me."

"It's a pillow and you're a big bad Asgardian warrior. You can handle it." she said. "You're loud."

"You wound me." Thor stretched and looked at the ceiling.

"The crown prince of Asgard, defeated by a nerd with a pillow. I sense a war ballad in the works" Felicity yawned.

"You're in a good mood this morning." Thor remarked.

"It's not morning. It's the middle of the night." Felicity frowned at the windows in her room. "Someone woke me up."

"You asked me to stay." Thor smirked. "Please Thor." He said in falsetto. "Don't go." He ducked as Felicity aimed another pillow at his head. "None of that." He jumped and grabbed her hands. Straddling her on the bed he trapped her so she couldn't move. "And no magic either."

"No fair, you're huge." Felicity said, then froze. "I mean. You're bigger than me, size wise. I wasn't thinking about anything else. My brain just thinks of the worst way to say things."

Thor's playful smile was gone. He was holding her wrists with one of his hands. The other he used to push a stray curl away from her eyes.

"We were interrupted before I got a chance to finish what I wanted to say." He said softly. "Would you like to hear it now?"

"Yes." Felicity said, cursing the breathy quality of her voice. Thor leaned back and let go of her wrists. He took a deep breath.

"I believe I am in love with you, lady Smoak." He looked at her with a small smile. "In fact, there is nothing I am more sure of."

"You mean it?" Felicity said.

"Yes. Do you return my feelings?" Thor actually looked worried. Felicity sat up and put her hands on his face.

"Yes."

"My lady." Thor moaned and grabbed her, pulling her close. "Say it." He pleaded.

"I love you." She said. He kissed her.

"I've…never kissed a god before." Felicity said when he pulled away.

"I should hope not." Thor growled, making her giggle. He began kissing down her throat. "Mine." He whispered.

"Are you always going to be this possessive?" Felicity asked. Thor raised an eyebrow.

"I am a prince of Asgard, so yes."

Another pillow hit him on the back of the head.

"Telekinesis; never leave home without it." Felicity smirked as he looked around, confused. "I have superpowers." She whispered. He laughed, then sobered quickly. "I protect what's mine, Felicity. Does this bother you?"

She tilted her head "Are you going to stop me from sparring with Fandral or Hogun?"

"No."

"How about dancing with them at feasts?"

"Not unless they step out of line." Thor grumbled. "And if Vadrun so much as looks at you disrespectfully I'll – "

"Pound him with your hammer, I know." Felicity rolled her eyes. Thor arched an eyebrow.

"Actually I think I'll save that for you." He smirked, just as there was a knocking on the door.

"Don't even think about it." Sif shouted. "I was sent here to ensure no impropriety and I will not listen to the two of you fornicate."

"Urgh. Terrible word. Maybe if we're really quiet" Felicity whispered. Then she looked at Thor. "Yeah that's probably not going to happen."

"You deserve a better first time than this anyway." Thor said as he got up. "I will not dishonor you by rushing. I intend to fully enjoy every minute with you. And not have to listen to Sif grumble in the other room."

"What if I want some dishonoring?" Felicity tried grabbing and pulling on his shirt to keep him down, but he just laughed and removed her hands. "Sleep, Felicity. You have had a trying day and the night is not over. Tomorrow we can lay out the parameters of our courtship."

"Courtship is like dating right?" Felicity yawned. Thor nodded. "Sounds fun." She mumbled. Then she got a thoughtful look in her eyes. "Sif pretty much put a stop to any sexy times, but…she said nothing about cuddling."


	20. Chapter 20

"Are you ready?" Sif called.

"Does it really matter?" Felicity grumbled. Ever since she and Thor had publically announced their courtship she'd been forced into etiquette lessons by the ladies of the court. Thor had been called away on urgent warrior business. The Bifrost had been partially repaired enough to allow travel between Asgard and Vanaheim. Thor had left on a diplomatic mission which had quickly descended into chaos because of a troll uprising. He was hammering trolls while she was stuck having tea parties and weaving with the noble ladies of the Asgardian court. She was pretty sure he had the better end of the deal.

"He should have been back three days ago." Felicity said as she and Sif left. "We should be helping him, not sitting around doing needle point with the real housewives of Asgard."

Sif snorted. "As the beloved of the crown prince of Asgard…"

"I'm expected to pander to their over puffed egos by taking these stupid, pointless lessons or risk offending them and causing a diplomatic rift, I know." Felicity rolled her eyes. "Doesn't change the fact that they all hate me because half of them wanted to marry their daughters to Thor, while the other half wanted him for themselves."

"Well setting the loom on fire yesterday may not really have helped your case." Sif smirked at the memory.

"That was an accident."

"Oh I would never dream to contradict you. The lady Melis deserved every singed eyebrow." Sif said.

"She's plotting my murder. I can feel it." Felicity said.

"She better hope that her aspirations on your parentage never reach Thor's ears." Sif said. "Because then eyebrows will be the least of her concerns."

Felicity looked around and frowned. "Um Sif, this isn't the way to the domestic chamber of horrors."

"Your lesson has been cancelled today." Sif said.

"You waited to tell me this why?" Felicity grinned. "FREEDOM!" Felicity broke out into a celebration dance.

"Your presence has instead been requested by the Allfather in the palace gardens."

Felicity froze. "Odin wants to talk to me alone?" Though he'd been nothing but kind to her, it had been before she'd begun sort of dating his son. In fact she hadn't seen Odin since Thor had declared his intention to "pursue her romantically" during a court assembly. And not even two days later Thor had been sent away on a diplomatic mission and her torture lessons had begun.

"You are nervous." Sif grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze. "Do not worry. The Allfather is quite fond of you." They made their way to the garden. Odin was sitting on a bench next to a pond. It was the same pond Felicity and Thor had sat next to the day she'd found out about being an alien.

"Thank you lady Sif," Odin said in a clear dismissal. He motioned for Felicity to sit next to him. She sat.

"Is…is something wrong?"

"Heimdall tells me that Thor is quite successful in battling the trolls. In fact, the troops of Vanaheim seem more inclined to trust his leadership than that of Vadrun." Odin said. "He should be returning soon. How are your lessons progressing?"

"Um." Felicity wasn't sure how to answer without offending someone.

Odin chuckled. "You may speak honestly. You hate them. Otherwise you wouldn't have knocked over that candle and set fire to the weaving room. Accidentally, I'm sure."

"Of course." Felicity said. "But I get that politics are important."

"Indeed." Odin said. "But a few more well placed accidents might convince Lady Melis that you are a lost cause." He gave her a wink. "Frigga never used any of the skills forced upon her by the ladies of the court. Yet she is a beloved queen none the less. As you will be when your time comes."

Felicity gave a start. "My time?"

Odin put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Thor is the prince of Asgard. As his consort and eventual bride, because I am sure my son's intentions towards you include marriage, you will become a princess; and when he becomes king, his queen. And you will make an excellent queen. You are compassionate, intelligent and wise way beyond your years. Most importantly, you are not intimidated by my son. You temper him and put him in his place. I suspect that even without the power of the Tesseract, you'd be a force to be reckoned with." He stood. "I have reprieved you of your lessons today as I hear that Heimdall has some news for you. It might also be in our best interest to let the Lady Melis…cool down before your next lesson." He walked away. Sif walked towards her.

"I have to go to the Bifrost." Felicity said. "Apparently Heimdall wants to talk."

"I will accompany you." Sif offered.

"Just because Thor asked you to keep an eye on me…"

"I offer because I enjoy your company and I would be utterly bored without you." Sif rolled her eyes. "Most of the skilled warriors have gone off to battle trolls with Thor and I'm left training the children who can't handle a sword properly."

Felicity smiled. "Race ya." She ran towards the stables. In the end, Sif saddled and prepared her horse first, even after the 2 minute head start she gave Felicity.

"Centuries of experience." Sif smirked as Felicity struggled arranging her skirt in a comfortable riding position.

"I hate these dresses. Next time I got riding. I'm wearing the jeans I brought form home. Or I'm stealing pants from you."

"Oh to see the look on lady Melis' face." Sif sighed. They began their way down the rainbow bridge towards the Bifrost.

"I may have lost the race to the stables…." Felicity said slowly. "But…I CAN STILL BEAT YOU TO THE BIFROST." She threw up a barrier behind her as she urged her horse into a gallop.

"CHEATER." Sif shouted after her.

Felicity was leaning against her horse when Sif finally caught up with her. "Took you long enough."

Sif stuck out her tongue.

"Good afternoon Lady Felicity, Lady Sif." Heimdall inclined his head as they entered the main chamber of the Bifrost.

"Hey Heimdall. Odin said you wanted to talk to me about something?" Felicity smiled and looked around. "How are the repairs going?"

"Slowly my lady." Heimdall chuckled at the look of exasperation on Felicity's face. "It is a complex piece of magical machinery."

"Oh sure. What's a century or two if you're immortal." Felicity said sarcastically.

"We are not immortal, we just live longer lives than Midgardians." Sif smiled.

"With your half immortal parentage it is very possible this longevity was passed on to you." Heimdall added.

"Is today give Felicity overwhelming information day?" Felicity muttered as she tried to process what Heimdall had said. "Because between my conversation with Odin and the whole semi immortal thing I may have just reached my quota of revelations for the day."

"Then I suppose you will not want to hear the news I have from your friends on earth." Heimdall asked innocently.

"Is everyone alright? Did Tony blow something up? I bet Roy put food near my computers. It's that isn't it? Are Digg and Lyla okay? What about baby Sara? Is she not rolling over? Has she not learned to crawl?"

"Breathe. My lady." Heimdall looked at her with concern. "The little lady Sara is well. My news concerns your cousin. He has returned to Midgard and claims to have been led by visions of you. He warns that you might be in danger. In addition your father appeared to your friends in the city of the Starlings."

"Dad's alive." Felicity put a hand to her mouth.

"Gamiel is keeping him captive. He must have mustered enough power to get a message to your friends. He warned them that Gamiel's arrival is imminent. Your mother has been moved to Avenger's Tower for safety." Heimdall paused. "Your cousin also has brought some off world allies. They call themselves the guardians of the galaxy."

"He's one of them?" Felicity asked.

"It would appear that he is their leader." Heimdall said. "He is called Starlord."

"That is quite impressive." Sif remarked. "Your cousin must be a great warrior. Tell me Heimdall, is he handsome?"

"SIF!" Felicity looked at her in shock.

"From what I understand it is a self-invented title." Heimdall said. "Are you alright my lady?"

"Just…overwhelmed." Felicity sat down. "I feel powerless. Everything around me is moving so fast and absolutely nothing is in my control."

"I find hitting something to be quite therapeutic." Sif suggested, sitting with her.

"Well, it just so happens that there's a troll uprising on Vanaheim." Felicity said.

Sif grinned. "Heimdall? I think I heard the Allfather say he wanted you to join him and Queen Frigga for lunch."

"I seem to recall that too." Heimdall said. "I believe I shall go and join them." he walked out of the Bifrost.

"To Vanaheim!" Felicity sprung up and pointed forward. "Um do you know how to work this thing?"

"When the portal opens, brace yourself." Sif walked to the sword and opened the portal. Then she and Felicity were transported to Vanaheim. Heimdall walked back in and chuckled.

"Thor is going to have trouble keeping up with her." he said as he watched Felicity and Sif arrive in Vanaheim.

Thor had been fighting for the better part of two days. They had almost defeated the trolls, or so they believed, until they unwittingly walked into an ambush. As the battle raged on, he saw the light of what could only be the Bifrost. he felt irritation mixed with relief. The troops were spread thin, but he had hoped to win this conflict without needing reinforcements.

"Tell my father I have this handled." he said without looking at who had just arrived.

"Is that why everything's on fire?"

Thor whirled around to see Sif stab her sword through an oncoming troll.

"Sif." He growled. "You're supposed to be on Asgard."

"And you know how I feel about you telling me what to do." Sif threw her sword and it flew past him and skewered a troll that was heading towards them with a mace aimed at Thor's head. "Less talking, more fighting." Tearing the sword form the dead troll's body, she entered the throng of the fight.

"Sif, if you are here, who's with…" Thor broke off as a giant rock creature detached itself from the mountain.

"Well since you have handled, I'll leave you to it." Sif smirked. "He's all yours, Thor."

Thor walked up to the rock creature. "I accept your surrender." He said. Around him the battle had paused and everyone waited to see what would happen next. The creature lifted his arm and made a fist. Bringing it down he attempted to bash Thor over the head. Thor held up Mjolnir and the creature's fist shattered on contact. Then, spinning Mjolnir around, Thor knocked the creature into pieces. Turning around, he looked at the Troll army. "Anyone else?" he challenged.

Sif's eyes grew wide as she looked behind him. He turned to see the creature reassembling itself…only to be blasted apart by a bright blue light. A second blinding light swept across the battlefield causing the trolls' weapons to overheat. Dropping them, they howled in pain and ran. Thor blinked in surprise, then turned to the source of the light. Felicity was standing in the ruins of the rock creature, grinning smugly.

"My first official battle. Sif, any critiques?"

"I give it a 6.8 seeing as you didn't actually put any of the fighting skills I've taught you to use." Sif said. "Thor, anything to add?"

"You're supposed to be on Asgard." Thor looked around at the growing crowd of both Asgardian and Vanir soldiers. "It's too dangerous."

"I think I managed to survive those trolls." Felicity said innocently.

"The trolls aren't my concern." Thor growled. "I meant - "

"I see you have about as much control over your consort as she has over her tongue." Vadrun had just arrived on horseback. "You are trespassing in Vanaheim, Lady Felicity." His mocking lilt on the word lady made Thor want to throw Mjolnir at his face.

"The lady just won your battle for you." He said.

"A task you were unable to achieve. Tell me, what does it say about Asgardian warriors when they must have their women help win their battles for them?"

Thor was about to retort when Felicity beat him to it.

"Probably that they're braver then the person who rides in on horseback once the real fight is over."

"You insolent, little "

"Tell your father that I am weary and will miss his gracious hospitality tonight." Thor said quickly. "My warriors and I return to Asgard." He put his arm around Felicity. "Heimdall."

A few moments later he, Felicity, and Sif were back in the Bifrost. "See that the rest of the warriors return home safe." Thor told Heimdall before walking out.

"He's pissed isn't he?" Felicity sighed. "Thor." She went to the stables which were housed next to the apartments. Thor was standing next to Ta el Asfer, stroking her mane. "Are you going to talk to me?"

"Not here."

They rode back in silence; both sitting on Felicity's horse while Sif rode behind them on hers. Thor wrapped his arms around Felicity. She leaned against him. "Look I get that you're angry." Felicity began.

"Angry is not the word I'd use." Thor said. "Terrified is more like it. Vadrun wanted you in Vanaheim. What if he had taken you during the battle? Locked you in his castle and kept you there?"

"Heimdall would have seen and – "

"Not necessarily." Thor growled. "And I would prefer to have this conversation without an audience." He turned to glare at Sif who was on the horse behind them. "Of all people, I would expect you to understand the threat he poses to Felicity." He urged the horse into a gallop, leaving Sif behind.

He got off the horse first when they arrived at the stables. Turning to help felicity down he saw that she'd gotten off on the other side. She led the horse to her stall.

"Have one of the servants take it." Thor said.

"You're really enjoying the orders today aren't you?" Felicity glared. She turned and left the stable. Thor followed. They walked through the palace without a word. Felicity went to her door and wrenched it open. Thor made to follow her, but she blocked his path.

"Where do you think you're going?" she asked.

"I believed we were going to talk and – "

"Well as long as you're ready to talk then everything's okay." Felicity said. "I had a really weird day and I'm sorry if what I did was reckless, but after the week I just had being stuck here listening to that evil lady Melis, who was definitely channeling the spirit of Moira Queen, tell me that I was unfit to even look at a prince of Asgard, never mind be with him. I had enough. Not to mention that I was worried about you and then this morning I had a conversation with your dad and he was talking about how I'd make a great queen someday and on top of that I find out that my father has been alive and is being held captive by my crazy uncle who is apparently on his way to find me. And my cousin is back and for some ungodly reason calls himself Starlord and is a guardian of the galaxy, whatever the hell that means. I've abided by the ridiculous rules, but today was just too much. So I made…a really crappy decision." Her anger appeared to have burnt itself out. Thor breathed a heavy sigh

"Lady Melis is an old hag who is angry because I have never succumbed to her invitations to her bed."

"Isn't she married?" Felicity muttered.

"Yes. And her husband is a lecherous cad. Sif's broken quite a few of his fingers which found themselves in the wrong place. I would advise staying away from both of them."

"Easy for you to say. You don't have mandatory etiquette lessons." Felicity grumbled. "And don't try to distract me with gossip when we're in the middle of a fight."

"May I please come in so we may resolve this?" Thor murmured, grabbing her and pulling her against him. "I have missed you so." He whispered into her ear.

"There will be none of that." Lady Aroway, another one of Felicity's etiquette teachers was walking by. "The prince needs his rest after so long a battle and you have lessons tomorrow." Aroway was much nicer than Melis, but that didn't mean she wasn't stickler for the rules. Thor nodded, then lifted Felicity and crushed her against his chest. Kissing her passionately, he had one arm around her waist and the other he used to grip her hip. Felicity put one arm around his shoulders and gripped his bicep with the other. She'd missed him, she'd wanted him close. He broke their kiss.

"Until tomorrow." He whispered as he put her down. Then giving a small bow to lady Aroway, he strode off to his room. Felicity blushed and went inside shutting the door on Aroway's disapproving frown. Leaning against the door, she attempted to slow down her beating heart. "Pull it together Smoak. Do not let him distract you with his unbelievable, better than any person has a right have, kissing skills." Finally, when she was calm, she walked over to the window and stuck her head out.

"Don't think you've won just because you're the god of great kisses." She shouted upwards towards his open window. She heard him laugh in response.

"I wouldn't dream of it; my lady. However." He leaned out of his window. He'd taken off his armor and was clearly shirtless. "I will dream of you."

She swallowed and ducked her head back inside her room. Shutting the windows, she shook her head. "I am so doomed." She whispered as she put her fingers to her lips, the memory of Thor's still burned into them.


	21. Chapter 21

The next morning Felicity was dragged out of bed for another etiquette lesson...during breakfast. Today's torture of choice; The Correct Way to Handle a Breakfast Spoon. Felicity was ready to gouge Melis' eyes out using the improper holding technique just to spite her.

"I hope I'm not interrupting." Felicity and the other ladies turned to find Thor leaning against the doorframe. "But I have so missed the lovely lady Felicity's company and I wondered if I might be able to have breakfast with her. Under the wise chaperoning of you ladies of course."

"Of course my prince." Lady Melis was practically salivating. She moved over and indicated the empty space next to her on the small couch she was sitting on. Thor ignored her invitation and went to sit next to Felicity.

"Good morning, my lady." He said, taking her hand and giving it a kiss. "I trust you slept well?" Felicity blushed. All around him the ladies remarked on how gallant and well-mannered he was and how grateful she should be that he took an interest in her. Thor gave her a small wink. Felicity knew she was supposed to be mad at him for the previous day, but the look on lady Melis' face was too good to pass up. She leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I am happy that you came home safe my lord." She said. Thor gave her hand a squeeze and then slipped his behind her back and put it on her waist. Leaning in he whispered.

"I promise to get you out of here so we can continue our conversation from last night." His lips brushed her ear and Felicity felt her face grow red again. Leaning back he smiled at the assembled ladies, but Felicity could see it wasn't a genuine smile, it was the same type of smile Oliver used when he was in his playboy persona.

"I can't thank you ladies enough for watching over Felicity while I was away." Thor said as he accepted a cup of the Asgardian version of coffee from Lady Simora.

"Felicity." Melis said, frowning at Lady Simora. "The prince has just returned from war. As his consort shouldn't you service his needs?"

"In front of all these people?" Felicity asked innocently. Thor coughed and spilled the coffee over his shirt and pants. Felicity got an idea. Grabbing a napkin, she began patting down the spilled coffee on his shirt.

"Oh, no." She said in a high pitched, airy voice. "Look at the awful mess I've caused. Here let me clean it up."

Thor looked at her in confusion. "Felicity, you don't have to –"

"No I insist." Felicity imitated the air-brained tone women used around Oliver and began wiping up the stains on Thor's shirt. This would be her revenge for him leaving her so flustered last night. But she quickly realized her plan had backfired on her spectacularly; she hadn't factored in his muscles. Judging from his smirk, Thor was on to her plan. Thor:1 Felicity:0 she hated losing.

"It got on your pants too. Oh silly me." Felicity exclaimed. She turned and looked at the other women in the room, making sure not to look at him. Putting her hand on his knee she began pressing on the stains and rubbing slowly. "I'm always so absent minded and clumsy. This one time, I was at a classmate's birthday party and I was wearing these really cute brand new sandals. But they had heels." Felicity began sliding her hand up Thor's leg. "I tripped and fell, knocking over the birthday girl's older sister who was carrying the cake." She paused. Her hand was about mid-thigh. She tilted her head thoughtfully and slowly rubbed circles in Thor's leg. "The candles were already lit so of course, it set the table cloth on fire." She began moving her hand again. Thor shifted uncomfortably. He put his hand on hers, stopping her from going any higher. Felicity:1 Thor:1.

Felicity looked down and gave a fake gasp. "I forgot the other side." She leaned over and began "cleaning" his other leg. Thor grabbed her wrist.

"That won't be necessary." He said. His expression was heated, and uncomfortable. "I can always change later." Felicity: 2. Then Thor got a thoughtful look. "I am always grateful for your help. Especially yesterday."

"What happened yesterday?" Melis asked.

"The lady Felicity quite probably saved my life on the battle field." Thor said. There was a sharp intake of breath from the assembled women. It was funny, but Felicity knew better than to laugh.

"I was under the impression that yesterday's lessons were cancelled on account of health reasons." Melis hissed.

"Of course they were." Lady Aroway said. "You needed time to go to the healer's to regrow your eyebrows."

"She used that as an excuse to sneak off. A lady does not engage in battle." Melis retorted.

"That doesn't seem to bother Sif." Felicity said. Melis looked like she was going to retort, but then she seemed to remember that Thor and Sif were close friends. To insult her in front of him would be very bad. "Besides" Felicity continued. "I didn't really fight in the battle. I kind of just zapped them."

"Your training needs work." Thor agreed. Melis's eyes popped out of her head. "In fact I believe you could take lessons from my mother. She is rather skilled with daggers and small swords. She has also mentioned how much she misses your magical training and how she worries what the consequences of neglecting it might be."

All the ladies sat back in horror. Felicity bit back a smile. Thor's face was the picture of innocence. He had set the ladies up brilliantly. Everyone in the room knew what had happened when Felicity's power was uncontrolled. In fact, many of the women, besides Melis, had been unwilling to push her too hard to avoid setting her off. And by mentioning his mother, he'd basically guaranteed that none of them would disagree with him; no one wanted to say bad things about the queen.

"Perhaps the two of you should go to her now." Lady Aroway suggested.

"Only with your permission." Thor said gravely. "I would never want to get in the way of your expert teachings." He laced his fingers with Felicity's and gave the ladies a wide eyed expression, which somehow came off as genuine and serious. He looked, adorably, like a giant puppy. Felicity fought to keep her expression neutral. Note to self; Thor's puppy face is extremely effective, she thought as she watched Melis's disapproving face soften.

"Of course my prince." She waved them out. Thor flashed her a smile so bright it was blinding. Tugging Felicity along with him, he led them towards the royal apartments.

"You are evil." She whispered as they walked up the stairs.

"I'm evil?" Thor looked at her incredulously. "If you'd moved that hand any higher those ladies would have been witness to a real act of impropriety."

Felicity grinned. She waved the napkin she was still holding. "Do you have any spills you need me to clean up, my prince?" She said in her high pitched voice.

"How is it?" He said, stepping closer to her. "that every time you use my title, it is to mock me?"

"Well, you seem to like it." Felicity said. "You're tall." She added as Thor got closer.

"That is true." Thor said as he backed her against the wall.

"We…" Felicity said. "Are also on the stairs. Which means anyone could walk in on us and I'd probably trip and fall inspiring the next century's worth of court gossip and…ah"

"I'd catch you." Thor murmured against her ear. "I'll always catch you, but." He pulled back. "Perhaps you are right and we should continue this later." He turned and continued up the stairs. Turning at the top he raised an amused eyebrow at Felicity's flustered expression. "Are you coming?" he asked.

"Not at this moment." Felicity huffed as she went up. Thor stumbled. That's 3 points to me, she thought.

"Points?" Thor asked. "I was unaware that we were playing a game."

"Yep, and I'm winning." Felicity smirked as she walked past him and started down the hall.

"Where are you going?" Thor was leaning against the doors to his chamber.

"We're going to see your mom aren't we?" Felicity turned.

"That was a ploy to get you out of lessons today." He opened the door. "In addition I need to change my clothing."

Felicity hesitated.

"Have no worry. I will not presume to force you into anything you don't want to do." Thor said. "We still need to discuss yesterday."

"I'm not apologizing for saving your life." Felicity said as she walked in.

"I'm not asking you to." Thor led her over to a couch in the entry room. "You are tense. Why do you look as if you are preparing for battle? This is a simple conversation." He pulled a chair over and sat in front of her. The chair was lower than the couch so she and Thor were at eye level. "Would you like to go first?" He asked softly.

"I…" Felicity looked at the ground. She'd been mentally preparing for an angry confrontation, like the ones she had with Oliver when they disagreed. She needed to stop basing her reactions to Thor on Oliver, the two were nothing alike.

"Would you feel more comfortable if I went first?" Thor offered, Felicity nodded. "Seeing you on that battle field yesterday was one of the most wonderful, terrifying moments of my life. I was happy to see you and I was impressed at the way you destroyed that monster." He grinned at the memory. "Most importantly; I was incredibly proud to see how much you'd progressed in controlling your ability." He pulled her hand into his. "But then I remembered that we were on Vanaheim and that Vadrun wanted you to be his. While I don't particularly like you being in danger, I know you are capable of entering battle so I would never presume to attempt to stop you. But not on Vanaheim. Vadrun was preparing to imprison you yesterday."

"What?"

"He accused you of trespassing. If I hadn't made Heimdall take us back, he may very well have tried to have you charged and locked up. He has not relinquished his will to possess you. Which is why I pulled you out as quickly as I did; I did not want to give him the opportunity. Not," he added quickly. "That I would have ever have allowed him to take you. I was angry with him and at Sif because she should have discouraged you from coming to Vanaheim."

"Don't blame Sif." Felicity said

"I've already apologized to her." Thor looked ashamed. "It was wrong of me to assume that the two of you couldn't protect yourselves. And I am sorry if yesterday I was in anyway…uncommunicative."

Felicity let out a sigh of relief she hadn't realized she'd been holding. "I was ready for an argument."

"Would you like one?" Thor raised an eyebrow. "I could shout or summon some lightning if that would make you feel better." Felicity laughed.

"Just because we didn't argue this time doesn't mean we won't have them in the future." Thor murmured.

"I know, and judging by the different types of powers we control, we'll have to evacuate the palace." Felicity said. Thor laughed. "We might even have to make everyone leave the realm." He added, drawing a smile from Felicity's lips. Then he gave her hand a squeeze.

"Are you prepared to tell me what had you so upset yesterday that you had to take on an army of trolls to calm down?" He said.

Felicity took a deep breath. "Well I had a conversation with your dad and it was…eye opening. I guess I realized that our relationship was weird because you're a god and I'm half immortal control freak, but I forgot the royal aspect of it. Taking with your dad reminded me…" She broke off and took a deep breath. Thor didn't interrupt, but waited patiently until she was ready to continue. "He mentioned that your intentions towards me might include marriage and then I talked to Heimdall who, on top of telling me that my dad is alive and has been a prisoner for the last 20 years and that my cousin is on Midgard, oh so casually mentioned that since I'm half immortal I may have a longer than human life span. I guess I realized that this might last longer than I thought."

"So you panicked and went to Vanaheim to vent some frustration." Thor said. "What exactly did my father say?"

"He told me that I'd make a great queen someday."

"That is correct." Thor agreed. Felicity stiffened.

"You do realize that the only way I'd be queen is if I married a king. Are you saying you want to marry me?"

"Not right this second." Thor laughed, "But I do see it happening at some point. My father knows this, which is why he brought up the subject yesterday. He probably wanted to force us to have this conversation." Thor frowned. "I'll talk to him; I didn't want to talk about this until you were ready. Especially if the thought of marriage makes you want to take on an entire troll army."

"I'm definitely a bit…iffy on the whole marriage thing right about now." Felicity admitted. "I've never really been in a serious relationship where it was an option. My first boyfriend was this guy named Cooper and he got himself arrested because of an algorithm I created. Then he…" Felicity paused as the familiar rush of pain of thinking about Cooper brought tears to her eyes. "He killed himself in prison."

"Felicity." Thor lifted her chin. "You don't have to feel obligated to explain your entire past to me."

"It's just that we might be together for a really long time and I was afraid you might not want to be stuck with me for – "

"Do you really believe I would push you away?" Thor looked hurt. "I am grateful that we might have more time to be together."

"Only two other men have told me they loved me. One died and the other served me up as bait to a crazy murderer 2 seconds later. Well to be fair, it was my idea to be bait, but him saying he loved me was not part of my plan. I almost gave the entire plan away because it hurt so much. He only said it because he was afraid one of us was going to be killed, then he never mentioned it again. 3…2…1." Felicity looked away and shook her head. Taking a steadying breath she continued. "Ever since you told me you loved me, a part of me has been afraid that you'll change your mind or that some earth shattering disaster changes it for you."

Thor pulled her onto his lap.

"Gamiel is coming. Heimdall said my dad warned Team Arrow that he'd try to get to me and Peter soon." Felicity said as she buried her head in Thor's shoulder.

"I should have been there when you heard this." He growled.

"You can't be with me all the time." Felicity chuckled.

"I can try." Thor muttered. "If Gamiel attempts to hurt you, he'll have to go through me. I won't allow him to take you from me. Nor will I use the threat of him doing so as an excuse to push you away. I am yours as long as you will have me." He kissed her forehead. "We are stronger united."

Felicity nuzzled his neck and started playing absentmindedly with his hair.

"Promise me that the next time you feel frustrated you'll find an outlet that doesn't involve going near Vadrun." Thor said.

Felicity laughed. "I promise."

"I mean it. Don't even go to the same realm."

Felicity kissed his neck. "I Felicity Meghan Smoak, Rock Monster Slayer extraordinaire, promise that I will not go near Vanaheim."

"I Thor, son of Odin, God of thunder and amazing kisses accept your promise."

Felicity giggled. "Can I be the goddess of something?"

"What would you like to be the goddess of?" Thor kissed her nose. "Wisdom? Beauty?" He slipped one hand under her skirt and ran it up her leg. "Perhaps love?"

"Thor." Felicity sighed.

"Would you like me to worship you my lady?" he asked pressing his forehead against hers.

"Yes." Felicity shifted so she was straddling his lap.

"Thor I …unbelieveable." Volstagg had just entered the room. He gave them a look of exasperation and crossed his arms. Felicity made to move off, but Thor gripped her hips; holding her in place. Turning, he glared at Volstagg.

"If you value our friendship, I suggest you leave now and forget you ever saw anything."

"It is precisely because I value our friendship that I'm not leaving." Volstagg sighed. "I have important news for you both, Felicity find another seat please."

"Okay, I'm just getting him off… I mean I'll get myself off, I mean I'll get off." Felicity scrambled back onto the couch across from Thor, her face as red as his cloak. Thor winked at her.

"The lady Amora has left for Vanaheim. Apparently Vadrun believes marrying her will cement alliances with Asgard." Volstagg began.

"I don't like the idea of her allying with him. She is very powerful and it is unlike Vadrun to settle for second best. He's planning something. But that hardly qualifies as important enough to enter my personal chambers without invitation." Thor nudged Felicity's foot, attempting to get her attention. "It definitely could have waited a few hours.

Felicity felt her blood run cold. Vadrun and Amora together was a nightmare.

"It may also interest you to learn that Amora requested her sister be transferred to a prison in Vanaheim." Volstagg said. Thor sat up in alarm.

"Your father refused, of course, but it doesn't change the fact that she tried."

"They are definitely plotting something." Thor growled, he looked at Felicity in concern. Volstagg looked at him in confusion.

"What happened to your clothing?"

Thor looked down. "Oh, this? A simple accident." Then he got an evil smirk. "I should change." He stood, towering over Felicity and slowly lifted his shirt. Felicity, who had been looking pale since hearing Volstagg's news, watched him wide eyed.

"Go change in the other room." Volstagg grumbled.

"You're a lot less amusing since you got married." Thor turned and left to change. Felicity watched him go, unconsciously licking her lips. Volstagg cleared his throat.

"Sorry." She blushed. "He just has a nice….everything."

Volstagg rolled his eyes.

"Didn't you and Gudrun find ways around the stupid propriety laws when you were dating?" Felicity asked. Volstagg looked away. "You did! Tell me. please?"

"Our circumstances were…different. A prince and his consort are subjected to more scrutiny than a warrior and a baker's daughter." Volstagg patted Felicity's knee. "You are potentially going to be our next queen." He paused and smiled. "I do remember my courtship. Sneaking out at night…NOT that I am suggesting you do so, but…there is a distinct advantage to having rooms which are on top of each other." He gave her a small wink as Thor walked back in.

"My prince. Sif requested the lady Felicity at the training grounds. Something about target practice using a moving mark."

"Fandral?" Thro chuckled.

"I only deliver messages." Volstagg said. "I don't presume to know anything about Fandral accidentally staggering drunk into her chambers lest I be used as target practice myself." He looked over at Felicity. "You won't tell her."

"It'll be our little secret." Felicity got up and began following Volstagg out.

"Am I allowed to join?" Thor asked.

"What do you think, My lady?"Volstagg asked. Felicity grinned.

"I don't know." She said thoughtfully, tapping her chin. "Do you think he's earned it?"

Thor rolled his eyes and picked Felicity up. Throwing her over his shoulder he began making his way to the training grounds. When they turned the corner at the bottom of the stairs they ran into Lady Melis. Thor gave her a polite nod as Felicity waved and smiled.

"Great, I've probably just earned a week of balancing books on my head, you caveman." Felicity hissed.

"Sounds exhilarating." Thor laughed. "Now why are you accusing me of living in a cave?" 

* * *

"My niece is still on Asgard, surrounded by the most dangerous group of warriors in the nine realms." Gamiel's anger caused ripples in the scrying bowl Vadrun was using to contact him. "You have failed me."

"No." Vardun said. "I have information which could greatly help your plans. My spy, lady Amora, has just informed me that your son is on Midgard and that he and the lady Felicity are linked through dreams."

There was a pause as Gamiel pondered this new information. "And you say that my niece has attracted the attention of the Asgardian prince?"

"Yes." Vadrun said, quickly. "There is nothing he will not do for her. Nor is there anything she will not do for him.

"Excellent." Gamiel murmured. "It appears that, when the time comes, Thor will be the key to controlling her. I can hardly wait to see the look on Odin's face when he realizes that his rule is crumbling because of the affections of his son."

"What of your son?" Vadrun asked tentatively.

"Leave the boy to me. If he and his cousin are linked, then it will provide an interesting means of accessing her."

"She is extremely powerful, my lord." Vadrun said. "I do not believe she will be easily controlled."

"If she cares half as much for the Odin brat as you believe she does, she will." Gamiel sneered. "How exciting."


	22. Chapter 22

Oliver glared from the bar as he watched Donna Smoak and Quill looking over an old photo album. They were sitting on the couch of the common room in Avengers tower. Ever since she had found out that Peter was Felicity's cousin she'd been doting on him like he was her own son. She'd been even happier when she found out he could actually see Felicity in his dreams. Apparently she was more accepting of the weirdness of the situation than the others in the tower.

As he watched, Rocket climbed up the back of the couch and slipped in between Donna and Peter.

"Cute kid, but puberty was definitely an improvement for her."

"Rocket." Peter warned.

"What? I'm just saying that she looks a lot better in recent pictures, she comes off a little bug eyed in these. She's not as beautiful as you." He turned and bared his teeth, in what Oliver guessed was supposed to be a smile, towards Donna.

"No flirting with my aunt." Peter gripped Rocket by the collar and pulled him off the couch.

"Rude." Rocket muttered. "You could have just asked me to go." He perked up as Natasha and Gamora walked into the room. "Hello Widow."

"Don't even think about it." Natasha said and she and Gamora went to the other end of the bar.

"I am Groot!" Dr. Banner had just walked in, carrying Groot. The plant was waving his arms around excitedly. Banner was beaming.

"He's amazing. I've never encountered anything like him." He said to Natasha as he put Groot down on the bar.

"I am Groot!"

"Urgh." Rocket jumped on the empty seat next to Oliver. "Everyone's got somebody. Groot's over there playing doctor. Peter's got his family reunion, Gamora and widow are probably plotting world domination. Your buddy is down stairs with Drax taking archery lessons from Hawkeye. What am I supposed to do?"

Oliver silently cursed Digg for going back to Starling and Roy for his Hawkeye hero worship. He felt as isolated as Rocket. He wanted to go over to the couch to see the photo album, but Quill had made it abundantly clear that he didn't approve of Oliver. And that disapproval extended to the sharing of Felicity's childhood pictures.

Just then Stark arrived.

"Where's the rodent?"

"Excuse me, metal head?" Rocket growled.

"I hear you build your own tech." Stark crossed his arms and examined Rocket.

"What's it to ya?" Rocket bared his teeth aggressively.

"Wanna come downstairs to see what we can build? My lab is open."

Rocket rolled his eyes, "If you think you can keep up. I'm warning you rust-brain. I don't like amateurs."

"Um certified genius." Tony pointed to himself as they made their way to the elevator. "Somehow I don't think I'll have too much trouble keeping up with a member of species whose main source of food is garbage."

"Say it to my face."

"I would, but even I'm not that short."

The doors closed, cutting off the rest of the argument.

"Those two are either going to be best friends, or they're going to kill each other." Peter muttered.

Natasha looked over at Bruce.

"I'm not going down there." He said, quietly. "That situation is explosive enough without adding the other guy into the mix."

Oliver got up. "I'm going to go to the gym." There were a few nods, but mostly everyone was too wrapped up in their own conversations to pay attention.

When Oliver got to the gym, Steve Rogers was already there; beating a punching bag.

"I'll come back later." Oliver began backing out.

"It's okay." Steve stopped and held the bag in place. "The gym's definitely big enough for the two of us."

Oliver nodded and walked over to the salmon ladder Tony had set up for him. Taking a deep breath he started going up. He let the steady rhythmic thuds from Cap punching the bag dictate his pace. Closing his eyes he remembered Felicity watching him on the ladder. He wondered if Thor could handle then ladder…then realized what a stupid thought it was. Thor was a god; he could probably do it with one hand. Every day Peter would come in with more stories about what Thor and Felicity were up to. They'd be horseback riding or sitting next to each other at a feast. Apparently she'd learned how to use a sword. Oliver was beginning to think that the Guardian took some sick pleasure in recounting how great Thor was for Felicity and how much she was smiling. It could have been you, he told himself. You chose to push her away.

He remembered the look of tenderness on Thor's face when he held Felicity after the alien invasion. He'd probably only known her for a couple of hours at that point, yet he'd already seen how special she was. Then he remembered the pain of Felicity's power tossing him across the room. She'd rejected him. She'd pushed him away while Thor got to hold her.

He missed the rung on the ladder and fell to the ground.

"Looks like you're carrying a lot of anger." Steve walked over and offered his hand to help Oliver up. "Want to talk?"

"Not particularly." Oliver ignored his hand and stood. Gripping the pole, he turned back intent on going another round on the ladder.

"I know how you feel." Steve said.

"Really? And how is that, exactly?" Oliver growled.

"Lonely, because the world around you has changed without waiting for you. Angry; because fate decided to tear away those closest to you. Powerless; because you keep playing the same scenario over and over again in your head trying to fix it. Frustrated; because you tell yourself if you had done just one thing differently your whole life could have been changed for the better."

Oliver turned slowly. He'd never really talked to Captain Rogers before this. He'd always seen him as apple-pie American dream propaganda, but he realized that he was just a man. One who'd suffered and lost an incredible amount for a world he no longer recognized.

"My best friend fell to his death and there was nothing I could do to stop it." Steve continued. "It didn't matter that I was Captain America. Bucky was…I still see him falling. I can still hear Peggy begging me to find another way before the icy darkness consumes me. We all have our ghosts, Mr. Queen."

"When you found out that Peggy Carter had moved on." Oliver started, he couldn't finish his question.

"It hurt." Steve said simply. "But I think it would have hurt more if I came out of the ice to find out that she'd sat around waiting for 70 years. Peg had…fire and I would never have forgiven myself is she'd lost it because of me. She accomplished so much. She founded SHIELD. I'm damn proud of her. She didn't let her memory of me hold her back." Steve put his hand on Oliver's shoulder. "Felicity deserves a right to make her own choices."

"She didn't have a choice. It was either go or stay and endanger everyone on the planet. She was forced." Oliver said.

"Maybe, but if Tony's shielding device works, she will have one." Steve said. "And when that time comes you'll have to be ready to accept whatever decision she may make."

A screen on the wall beeped.

"Sorry to interrupt this sweaty release of testosterone." Tony said, "But I come bearing good news and bad news from the lab. Which do you want to hear first."

"The bad news." Steve said.

"Good news it is." Stark said. "The gerbil and I looked over the containment field together and may have found a way to finish it real soon."

"How soon is that?" Oliver frowned at the screen.

"About a year…maybe. But that's better than the dead end I hit. At least we know there's a possibility of it working. Not that I ever doubted I could manage it, I mean I am – "

"Stark." Oliver cut him off.

"You could thank me." Tony huffed. "If this machine works, Felicity can come back home. Then you can start leading her on while repressing your feelings for her and pushing her away all over again. Business as usual."

"What's the bad news, Tony?" Steve shook his head in exasperation.

"Oh that. Yeah; Quill's collapsed on the ground. He's in some sort of psychic coma and no one knows why."

* * *

Peter looked around. One second he'd been sitting next to his aunt on the couch then he was here…wherever here was. All around him was mist and it enveloped him so he couldn't see anything, not even his own hands. He shivered. There was movement in the mist and it seemed to be alive. Then he heard the moaning. It sounded like the sound someone would hear from wind blowing through a grave yard.

"There's no such thing as ghosts." He said. But he couldn't fight the overwhelming sense of dread that enveloped him. It seemed that the mist itself was laughing at him. He'd never felt this small since the night his mother died.

"Help?" he called out. There was no response; only the moaning of the mist. Peter sat and drew his knees up to his chest. How was he going to get out?

* * *

"You need to eat." Frigga placed a tray with food next to Thor. He was sitting in Felicity's room, keeping vigil by her bedside. She'd inexplicably collapsed about 2 days ago. She was still breathing, but she seemed pale, shrunken. Her eyes were wide open, but unseeing.

"Is there truly nothing you can do?" Thor turned to his mother. She shook her head.

"Her soul has been forcibly removed from her body." Frigga murmured. "She lives, but her essence is not here. She must find her own way back."

"How is something like this even possible?" Thor felt tears rising in his eyes.

"When it comes to possible, I suggest you extend your definition of the word possible." Frigga put a reassuring hand on Thor's shoulder. "Her soul is strong. She will find a way back to you. You must have hope." She turned and left.

"So this is the young midgardian who has caused all the unrest." A voice said from the shadows of the room. It was a strange voice, one Thor recognized, though he couldn't quite place it. Its sound filled him with a sense of dread, like the feeling one might have that someone is watching them.

"Who's there?" he asked, looking around. The shadows seemed to darken, but he and Felicity were still alone in the room. He gripped Mjolnir tighter.

"You know who I am, Thunderer." The voice didn't appear to be coming from a specific location in the room. Instead it surrounded him. "Sigyn told me of this one when I came to collect her. She told me her death came as a result of this child."

"Sigyn killed herself." Thor turned so his back was to Felicity and glared at the shadows at the foot of her bed, hoping he appeared braver than he felt.

"No. She was murdered." The shadows began to move. "Vadrun killed her for interfering. He has plans for the bastard celestial. And he has promised me such a good prize to help him."

"Hela." Thor growled. The shadows converged and out stepped the goddess of death. "How are you on Asgard?"

"My realm is linked to yours through the bonds of death." Hela sneered. "Everytime an Asgardian dies, a bridge is formed between the living and the dead. Amora opened that bridge earlier when she slew one of your warriors. It turns out he was not as honorable as you would expect from one of the royal guard. Instead of Valhalla his soul was bound to Helheim." She grinned. "I used this bridge to come here." She moved to stroke Felicity's face. "I sense such strong vitality."

"Do not touch her." Thor struck out with Mjolnir, but it passed through Hela's hand as if it were smoke.

"Oh, I'm not here for her." Hela chuckled. "Gamiel has sent her soul to Niflheim. He needs insurance that his plans will work. I am here to collect it."

"Whatever Gamiel has promised you." Thor said. "It is not worth the destruction of the universe."

"I am the goddess of death." Hela cackled. "I have nothing to lose and everything to gain when it comes to destruction." She grabbed Thor's arm. There was a burning sensation and he dropped Mjolnir on the ground; he was in so much pain. Struggling, he attempted to pull himself away. "There is no use in fighting, Asgardian. Gamiel has promised you to me. And with you under my command, I will finally be able to gain control over Valhalla." She laughed cruelly as the shadows began swallowing him. "Oh don't look so angry. No one can escape death."

* * *

There were voices in the mist. Felicity looked around in horror. This had to be Niflheim; the mist realm which doubled as purgatory. The voices she was hearing were just the souls of those who could not get into Valhalla, but weren't bad enough to be condemned to Helheim. The knowledge did little to make her feel better. How had she even gotten here? She remembered leaning against Thor while mocking Fandral, then a feeling of being torn. She blacked out and woke up here. She felt frustrated, scared, alone. You will not cry. She thought. "Felicity, you will not cry." She said out loud.

"Is someone there?" a voice asked. It was a man's voice and he sounded terrified.

She held out her hands and created a blue ball of energy. The mist shied away from it. she could almost see a figure on the ground, hugging their knees. Then the mist converged on her and she let the light go out.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"My name is Peter, Peter Quill." The man said.

"Don't move Peter, my name is Felicity. I'm not going to help you." She moved forward to where she had seen the shape.

"Felicity Smoak?" He asked. His voice seemed to be getting farther away.

"Yes." She stopped and looked around, though it didn't do any good.

"I'm your cousin. I came to help you…though right now I'm failing spectacularly."

"You seem to be getting farther away." Felicity shouted. "Plan B, don't move. MARCO."

She heard a chuckle. "Polo."

It took them a few minutes, but eventually Felicity found him sitting on the ground. He looked up at her; tears in his eyes.

"Hey Starlord." She said tentatively.

"You're even more beautiful in person." He said. "I've been dreaming about you…which probably sounds totally weird."

"My boyfriend is the god of Thunder." Felicity sat next to him. "I'm pretty sure I've cornered the market on weird."

A wailing from the mist caused Peter to stiffen. Felicity grabbed his arm.

"What is this place?" he asked as Felicity put her head on his shoulder.

"Norse version of purgatory." She said. "It's one of the 9 realms. It's called Niflheim."

"Since you seem to be the expert here, any ideas on how to get us out?" Peter asked.

"I don't even know how I got here." She looked up. "HEIMDALL?" Silence. She sighed. "I guess, even if he could see us, he wouldn't be able to do anything. The Bifrost is still broken."

"He will not hear you." A voice rasped from the mist.

"Who's there?" Peter called.

"My name is Devron."

"Dad." Felicity started to move, but Peter grabbed her arm.

"If we separate, we might never find each other again." He said. They stood and holding hands.

"I would come to you." Devron said. "But I'm a bit tied up…literally."

"Just keep talking." Felicity said.

"It's good to hear your voice, Lissy. You sound so grown up." Devron said. "I'm sorry I missed so much."

"It's okay." Felicity tugged Peter through the mist. "We'll find you and then we'll get out."

"It's over for me." Devron sighed. "As soon as Gamiel comes back from scheming with Hela, he'll kill me."

"But you're a celestial. You're immortal."

"Not invulnerable." Devron sighed. "The reason Heimdall can't see you is because you aren't actually here. In fact, neither am I. Gamiel learned you were psychically linked. He used it to tear the both of you from your bodies."

"A mind link." Peter sighed. "Sure, why not."

"It makes sense." Felicity tilted her head. "You were able to dream of me across realms and the unconscious mind is less guarded. A mind link would explain why you were so sure of how to find me."

"So why haven't you been dreaming of me?" Peter raised an eyebrow.

"Probably because I absorbed power from the Tesseract and it protects me from anything I might perceive as a threat, whether consciously or subconsciously." Felicity said. She heard her father chuckle.

"You were always so smart Lissy." He said. A huddled shape was taking form on the ground. Peter and Felicity rushed forward. Peter helped him sit up while Felicity threw her arms around his neck.

"You look so much like your mother." Devron murmured. "I need you to be strong. Gamiel plans to use your bodies to help him reconquer the universe, destroy it and remake it in his image. With your souls trapped here, he will have complete corporeal control. I'm going to send you back…but it will come at a price."

Felicity looked at him in horror. "No."

"Uncle Devron, there has to be another way." Peter said. Devron shook his head. "I'm dead either way. At least this way I get to dictate the terms of my end. I can make it mean something." He leaned against Felicity as she cried into his shoulder. "My life is a small price to pay for the safety of the universe."

He looked up at Peter. "I'm sorry I could not be more help to you when you were a child. When I became aware of you it was too late and I was…unable to save your mother. I only managed to convince the Ravagers to keep you alive and off the grid." He looked pained. "Gamiel killed all the other children he fathered."

Peter nodded stiffly.

"Take care of each other." Devron continued. "When I send you back it is imperative that you unite against Gamiel. Felicity, you must repair the Bifrost. Don't worry; you'll know how." He smiled. "You're my daughter. Tell your mother, that I never loved anyone as much as I loved her." He closed his eyes. "It's time for you to go now."

"No." Felicity tried to hold on to him, but Peter pulled her to her feet. "Dad" She shouted.

"I love you, Lissy." There was a bright light and Felicity felt herself being yanked through some sort of portal. The last thing she saw before the mists of Niflheim disappeared was her father's face smiling at her. Then she and Peter were moving. She felt his hold on her shoulders loosen. Then he was gone too. She closed her eyes. Shuddering and cold she sat up. She was in her bed on Asgard. She looked around the room in shock; just in time to see Thor being dragged into a dark void by some sort of antlered monster. His eyes locked on hers.

"Thor." She jumped up and attempted to grab his hand, but she only grasped empty air. She was alone.


	23. Chapter 23

Thor watched helplessly as Vadrun, Amora, and Hela plotted. He'd stopped trying to break the bonds which held him. There was an unconscious man next to him. He was facing the ground, and Thor couldn't see his face. He looked around at his surroundings. He'd heard stories of Helheim, every child in Asgard had; they were meant to scare them into good behavior. But the stories were nothing compared to the reality. It was a horrific combination of ice interlaced with lava. Souls were trapped inside; burning. He could hear their screams; never could he have imagined such torment. Glaring at Vadrun, Thor took a small measure of satisfaction in knowing that one day the Vanir prince would be trapped here permanently.

Hela sat on her throne of bones, while Vadrun and Amora smirked at him. Amora walked over and kicked him in the stomach.

"I always expected the sight of the mighty Thor groveling at my feet to be satisfying." Amora grinned as she leaned close, "But I believe I will enjoy forcing you to watch as your precious Felicity causes the destruction of the universe."

"I'm hardly groveling." Thor growled. "and Felicity will never do your bidding."

"She won't have a choice." Vadrun said. "She's no longer in control of her body. Her soul will be trapped on Niflheim until Gamiel brings her back just in time to drain her power. Then, weak and defenseless, she will be mine to do with as I please. Perhaps I will let you watch."

Thor struggled, twitching his fingers and imagined strangling Vadrun. He knew he'd seen Felicity awake before Hela had closed the portal. She was awake, which meant their plans were already ruined. "You think yourself powerful; take off these bindings and allow me to demonstrate how a true warrior fights his battles."

Vadrun rolled his eyes. "You were always rash and irresponsible. You are nothing but an overgrown child, challenging those better than you. Without that hammer of yours you are still that overconfident brat who I left crying in the mud all those centuries ago."

Thor laughed. "You are all fools. You actually believe Gamiel will honor the bargains he's made? Tell me; why would a celestial whose only goal is complete control of the universe give you Asgard and Valhalla to Hela?"

"Enough talk." Amora hissed and pulled Vadrun back.

"You've been asking yourself the same thing." Thor continued. "Gamiel will turn on you. He's willing to use his niece and his own son to achieve his goals. You mean nothing to him."

There was a groan from the man next to him. It was the first sign of life he'd shown. Lifting his head he gave Thor a small smile. Then he collapsed.

"What is happening?" Amora hissed

"You will fail." The man's voice was faint, fading. He looked at Thor. "Take care of my Lissy." Thor's eyes widened; this was Felicity's father. Thor nodded.

"I will stand beside her, always."

"He's dying." Hela said emotionlessly. "His soul is not mine to claim."

Just then a short, bald man arrived; dragging an unconscious man behind him. His eyes were sunken and had sharpened teeth. He was paler than anyone Thor had seen. He was a complete contrast to the man he was dragging towards Thor. Shoving the man to the ground he griped Devron's hair and pulled him up.

"Brother." He hissed. Thor recoiled. This was Gamiel? Gamiel turned and glared at his associates. "What happened?"

"He fell of his own accord." Hela said

"And you couldn't stop him?" Gamiel hissed. "You're the goddess of death."

"I have no claim on his soul." Hela said simply. "He is one more ancient then even the realm I preside over."

The man on the ground began shuddering, then he sat up.

"Oh that was a trip." He groaned, rubbing his head. "This…isn't Avengers' tower." He looked around in horror.

"This is Helheim, my son." Gamiel frowned. "And you're supposed to be on Niflheim."

The man, who Thor guessed was Felicity's cousin Peter, looked at Gamiel in horror. "You're my dad?" he looked down at Devron and then back at Gamiel. "Are you sure? I'm not his kid, or adopted…?" He trailed off.

Gamiel grabbed Devron's lifeless body. "What did you do?" he shouted at the body as he shook it. Thor laughed. Gamiel's eyes snapped to him. "What's so funny Odin brat."

"Felicity's soul has rejoined her body and she'll be coming after you." Thor smiled. "You might as well surrender now while you still can."

Gamiel's face twisted into a mad grin. "Oh, she'll cooperate." He sneered. "I have the one she loves most. She'll cooperate to save you." He chained Peter next to Thor and walked away.

"Nice going, Viking dude." Peter muttered.

"Viking dude?" Thor rolled his eyes. "I guess I shouldn't expect cleverness from the man who calls himself Starlord."

"I just found out my dad is Fester Addams; cut me some slack, and if you save the galaxy you get call yourself whatever you want." Peter retorted.

"Well then Starlord, what is your assessment of a guardian who allows himself to get kidnapped by a mad man and dragged across realms." Thor smirked.

"Probably that he had the excuse of an out of body experience; unlike the god who was fully conscious when he was kidnapped."

Thor chuckled.

"I like you, He-man." Peter smiled. "You're way more fun than Queen."

Thor tensed. "Oliver Queen?"

"The one, only, and extremely annoying." Peter frowned. "He wants Felicity back. I get this bad vibe from him, he seems to be a decent hero, but I don't want him dating my cousin." He raised an eyebrow at Thor. "Since we're stuck here, this might be a good time to discuss your intentions towards my cousin."

Thor snorted. "I would love to see the look on Felicity's face if she heard that. She doesn't take well to people trying to make decisions for her."

Peter smiled. "I guess there's nothing to do but wait until she shows up to save us."

* * *

Felicity ran out of her room. Sif, Fandral, and Hogun were all outside.

"My lady, you've recovered." Fandral grinned. "I am surprised to see you leaving your bedchamber so quickly, shouldn't you and Thor be celebrat-"

"Thor's been taken." Felicity cut him off. "There was a portal and a woman, monster with antlers or horns and she dragged him away and I tried to get him but."

"Was she wearing green and black?" Sif interrupted. "Was she extremely pale and were her eyes obscured by her headdress?"

"Yes?" Felicity said. "I didn't get a really good look, but that sounds about right."

"Hela." Sif said. "The goddess of death."

"My dad said that she was working with Gamiel." Felicity felt a rush of pain when she thought about her father. She needed to focus; defeating Gamiel and getting Thor back were the priority. She could mourn later. "She has him, I'm going after her." She began rushing to the stables.

"This is madness." Hogun rushed after her. "Thor wouldn't want you to put yourself in danger. Going up against Hela is a suicide mission."

"Which is why I'm calling in the reinforcements." Felicity said. "Now either help me or get out of my way."

Hogun stepped back. Fandral smirked. "Am I correct in guessing that you're going to the Bifrost?"

"Yes."

"Then the horses aren't going to be fast enough for the urgency of the situation." Fandral said. "Tell me, have you ever traveled by airboat?"

* * *

This is terrible." Felicity clung to her seat as Fandral took charge of steering. "I'm sea sick and we're not even on water." Fandral's air boat was literally a boat which traveled on air. Sif sat next to her while Volstagg and Hogun sharpened their weapons. "Can this thing go any faster?"

"We are almost there." Sif squeezed her shoulder. "How do you plan on collecting your Midgardian friends when the Bifrost is still broken?"

"I'll fix it." Felicity said bluntly. Volstagg and Fandral shared a look of concern.

"Felicity," Volstagg said slowly. "Do you mind telling us what happened during your illness?"

"It's just that you were gone for 2 days and – " Fandral interjected.

"2 days?" Felicity's eyes grew wide. "I guess time works differently on Niflheim because I could have sworn that it wasn't more than 2 hours."

"NIFLHEIM?" Volstagg's jaw dropped. His wide eyed look of horror was echoed on the faces of the others, Fandral nearly lost control of the boat.

"How did you manage to escape?" Hogun asked. Felicity looked away.

"Let's just get to the Bifrost." She said "I'm going to throw up."

Heimdall looked at them sadly as they entered the Bifrost. "I can no longer see Helheim, I believe they are hiding there."

"Stand back." Felicity walked up the dias and grabbed the sword which controlled the Bifrost. She could feel the broken enchantments. "It's so simple." She murmured. Slowly she let loose some of her power, letting it flow from her hands, through the sword and into the Bifrost. She connected the to the broken enchantments and healed them, there was a rush of wind and then she opened her eyes.

"Did you know she could do that?" Fandral whispered to Hogun.

"Heimdall, can you send us to Avengers' Tower?" Felicity stepped aside to allow Heimdall to take his place in the center of the Bifrost. He nodded and opened the gate. The 5 of them walked through and found themselves standing in the landing pad. Standing in front of them, armed and ready for combat, were the Avengers, Team Arrow, and a group of people who had to be the Guardians of the Galaxy.

"Is it customary for Midgardians to greet their visitors with their weapons drawn?" Fandral asked.

"Stand down and we won't blow you back to…wait" Tony flipped open his helmet. "Smoakie?"

Felicity walked to stand in the no man's land between the two groups. "Hey Tony."

Hulk roared. "NICE LADY!" and picked her up and swung her around in a tight hug.

"Hey Big Guy." She clung to his neck. She caught sight of Oliver looking shell shocked. Hulk put her down and she turned to look at the rest of the group.

"Looking good, Blondie." Roy grinned. "The Cinderella thing is working for you." He pulled her into a hug. "Where's your prince charming?"

Felicity stiffened. "Where's Peter?" she looked around. The raccoon walked towards her.

"Quill fell into a coma 3 days ago. Then this bald dude appeared and takes him without us even realizing it." He looked angry.

"When did this happen?" Felicity asked

"About 30 minutes ago." Tony looked down. "To be fair, I haven't quite figured out how to shield my tower against interdimensional kidnapers."

Felicity closed her eyes. First her dad, then Thor, now Peter; Gamiel was taking everything from her. She took a steadying breath. "Peter and Thor have both been taken to Helheim by a crazed member of an alien super race who used to rule the universe and wants to regain control." She closed her eyes. "He also happens to be Peter's father and my uncle. We need your help."

The green skinned member of the guardians stepped forward and put her hand on Felicity's shoulder. "I speak for all the guardians when I say we will be happy to help."

"Peter's one of us." The raccoon agreed.

"And Thor's one of us." Tony agreed. Sif raised her eyebrow. "Well he would be if he'd decided to stick around after New York."

"I'm coming too." Roy said, looking over his shoulder at Oliver. "We both are. Digg's in Starling with his family, but…"

"You don't have to get him." Felicity said. "He should sit this one out. This is dangerous and I don't want to be the cause of another person losing their father today."

Felicity stepped back and looked up. "Heimdall?"

The Bifrost opened and a few moments later they were all standing in front of Heimdall.

"What. The actual. Fuck?" Clint shouted when he regained his footing.

"Agreed," Volstagg frowned "I thought we were going to Helheim."

"Walking in guns blazing is a terrible idea." Felicity said. "We're going to split our forces. Half of us will directly attack Gamiel and his minions while the other half will sneak in and provide back up." She turned to the green skinned woman. "Um."

"Gamora." The lady smiled.

"Gamora, you and Barton, Roy, Oliver, Steve, Natasha, and Hogun will be on the cover team. The rest of us will be in charge of attacking as hard as we can to draw Gamiel's attention away while you save Thor and Peter."

"Will you be fighting beside us?" Sif grinned.

"Gamiel killed my father." Felicity turned to the entrance of the Bifrost. "He's not going to get away with it."

"And how exactly are you planning on sneaking the B team into Hell?" Tony asked. "No offense, but this interdimensional rainbow machine isn't exactly covert."

"The B team?" Clint hissed.

"There are other ways in and out of Asgard." Felicity said. "You just have to know who to ask."

* * *

"Oh this is delicious." Loki grinned as he looked out of his cell. "Thor's all powerful wench; begging me for help." He looked at Odin who was standing next to Felicity, "How desperate you must be."

"Loki, this is serious." Frigga said. Felicity shivered, she knew that involving Loki was necessary, but that didn't mean she wasn't having doubts.

"I can't help but notice that we're missing someone from this cozy family reunion." Loki smiked. "Where's Thor."

"Thor has been –" Odin began

"No," Loki's eyes glittered. "I want her to tell me." he pointed at Felicity.

"You've caused her enough hardship." Odin glared.

"Tell me, Fe-li-ci-ty" Loki drew out her name, mockingly. "What happened to my dear brother?"

Felicity walked straight up to the barrier. "He was captured by Hela, who's aligned herself with Gamiel; a celestial. They're planning on destroying the universe and using me to do it."

"You've fallen in love with him, haven't you?" Loki rolled his eyes. "How pathetically predictable. And here I thought you were interesting."

"Did you hear anything I just said?" Felicity felt her control slipping. "The fate of all people on all realms hangs in the balance. This isn't the time to pontificate on your sibling rivalry."

"Perhaps then it is time for the old leaders of the realms to learn that their actions have consequences." Loki glared at Odin. "Perhaps this is their reckoning. I view this as long overdue justice."

"We're wasting time." Odin said.

"I'm done being nice." Felicity stepped forward and broke through the barrier of the cell. She could see Odin trying to stop her, but Frigga held him back. She walked straight up to Loki, her body beginning to glow blue from the power leaking from her. Loki's amused expression vanished and he looked at her in terror. "You think you've been wrong because your adopted father never loved you enough? My dad abandoned me when I was 7 and I only found out that he was imprisoned in time to have him sacrifice himself to save me." She glared at him. "You're going to help us or I'll give you something to actually complain about."

"Alright." Loki whimpered. The trickster god actually whimpered.

"Good." Felicity turned; the blue glow around her disappeared immediately.

"You…you tricked me." Loki sounded both angry and impressed.

Felicity smirked, turning to Odin and Frigga she said, "Tell the others we're ready." She turned back to Loki. "If you step out of line, you'll have me to deal with."

Loki tilted his head as he examined her. "Oh I count on it Ms. Smoak."

* * *

Oliver glared as the members of the different teams interacted. The Asgardian throne room was huge. He looked around; Roy was standing with the Avengers while Dr. Banner stood off to the side. He'd shrunk back after they left the Bifrost. The guardians were looking around in awe. Rocket's eyes were even larger than usual. Oliver contemplated warning the Warriors 3 that he might steal something, then remembered it was Thor's palace. Spitefully he hoped the raccoon would empty the entire treasury. Felicity had left with King Odin and Queen Frigga and she wasn't back yet. She'd convinced them to try to enlist the help of Thor's crazy brother. So now Oliver was stuck listening, with growing irritation, as Sif told everyone how Felicity had taken down an entire army of trolls by herself.

"You should have seen the look on Thor's face. I have never seen anyone more frightened, yet completely smitten at the same time." Sif said. "I thought he might take her right there and then on the battle field."

Oliver had heard enough. Walking to the large windows he attempted to drown out the conversation. Felicity hadn't had the chance to talk to him since she'd arrived and taken them to Asgard. He had so much he wanted to say. He needed to tell her about Sara, and about how much he needed her to come back, but a part of him was beginning to worry that she wouldn't want to leave Asgard, even if Tony managed to finish his shielding device. Felicity was…different now. His girl would never have taken down an army of trolls.

"I do not like this." Volstagg muttered as Loki was brought into the throne room.

"I do." Clint flexed his fingers. "I'm going to be in charge of making sure you don't try anything. Go ahead and double cross us, and I promise you I'll teach you the definition of pain."

Loki sighed. "It appears you're still upset over our brief partnership."

"Let it go Clint," Bruce murmured. "He's not worth your rage."

"Heimdall will send the A team into Helheim first." Felicity began. "Simultaneously Loki is going to lead the covert team in." She turned to Bruce. "Can we count on the hulk to make a guest appearance?"

"He wants to help." Banner tilted his head as though listening to something. "He says he'll smash anyone who was mean to the nice lady." He blushed. "I think he likes you."

Felicity nodded. "I like him too."

"I am Groot." The plant waved at Felicity.

"Hey little guy." Felicity knelt down so she was eye level with him. "Maybe you should stay here and guard the palace while we're gone."

"I am GROOOOOOOOOT" The tree broke out of his planter and grew until he towered over all of them.

"You've been able to do that this whole time?" Rocket was furious. Groot looked at him sheepishly.

"I am Groot."

"I did NOT need you to be small because I felt residual guilt over you exploding on Xandar and I DO NOT HAVE A NURTURING SIDE."

"I am Groot."

"Are you a therapist now?" Rocket was outraged.

"Groot goes with my team." Felicity patted Groot on the shoulder. Oliver snapped

"This is INSANE." he shouted

"Here we go." Tony rolled his eyes.

"I'm not letting you walk into a trap just because you want to save your boyfriend." Oliver hissed

"Did you miss the part where this is about saving the universe?" Clint asked. "Because I'm pretty sure this is about more than Felicity wanting her boyfriend back."

"You're not LETTING me?" Felicity looked at him incredulously. "I'm sorry I didn't realize I had to ask your permission."

"You're not a fighter." Oliver said angrily. "You don't have the proper experience to lead an attack like this."

"And you do? I'm sorry, I didn't realize that the island included training to take on an all powerful immortal war lord." Felicity glared. "Maybe you should be in charge. Since apparently you know everything."

"You don't know what you're walking into." Oliver retorted. He could see everyone's looks of annoyance, but he didn't care. He wasn't going to let his Felicity walk into a trap for Quill and definitely not for Thor. "The rest of us can handle it."

"Gamiel wants me." Felicity said. "My dad sacrificed himself in order to give me and Peter a fighting chance to survive and take him down. He's already got Peter, which means he's only an infinity stone away from having a human celestial hybrid super weapon. I'm not going to stay here and let my father's sacrifice mean nothing because you decided that I can't handle it."

"The lady Felicity is potentially more powerful than all in this room combined." Sif added

"And I if I were you, I would count myself lucky that Thor was not present to hear you disrespect his consort in such a way." Fandral muttered

"CONSORT?" Oliver's eyes popped out of his head.

"This would be hilarious, if the literal fate of the universe wasn't at stake." Clint sighed. "Who the hell decided that we were qualified to save anything? Most of us shouldn't even be trusted with small children."

"The hawk is correct." Gamora said. "Fight the Celestial now and solve this cleaning opera later."

"You mean soap opera." Clint grinned. "Gamora watches daytime TV. This is priceless." He grabbed hold of the chain which was connected to Loki's restraints. "Okay Team Badass, let's roll."

"Team Badass?" Roy asked.

"I refuse to believe that B team stands for anything else." Clint began walking. Natasha and Roy shared a look of exasperation and followed, as did Gamora, Steve, and Hogun. Oliver looked back at Felicity. She was standing between Volstagg and Sif. Though they were taller than her, she didn't appear tiny. Instead she looked powerful, strong, regal. This wasn't his girl anymore. This woman wasn't the same one who blushed when he called her remarkable or got flustered when he did the salmon ladder. This new Felicity was a force of nature.

"You coming Queen?" Barton shouted. Oliver forced himself to turn and follow. As he left the throne room he met Loki's eyes. The trickster god was smirking a very self-satisfied smirk.

"What are you so happy about?" Barton glared at Loki.

"Oh nothing." Loki said. "Just appreciating the beautiful view." He leered at Felicity.

"Watch it Loki." Barton growled. "You don't need balls to give directions."

* * *

Felicity let out a sigh of relief when Oliver left without further argument. Why did he always make things so damn difficult? He was making her second guess herself, doubt her ability to properly fight. She closed her eyes, remembering the day Thor had begun training her with a sword. He'd stood behind her and helped her through the motions, but ultimately he'd let her lead. Thor didn't see her as weak, or in need of protection. He protected her because he wanted to, not because he believed it was necessary. He saw her as strong. And she needed to prove him right. For everyone's sake.

They all arrived at the Bifrost in silence. Heimdall nodded at them and opened the portal. Felicity stepped through first. When the light cleared she found herself alone.

* * *

"Please tell me that was supposed to happen." Tony looked at Heimdall in confusion.

"There is interference. I cannot send you through." Heimdall attempted to reopen the gate, but nothing was working. Sif looked out at Fandral and Volstagg.

"Felicity is there."

"Then let us hope that she is more fortunate than us in her quest." Fandral said

"Something tells me her arrival is exactly what Gamiel wanted." Sif's grip tightened on her shield.

* * *

"Did you honestly presume to outsmart me, mortal?"

Felicity turned, but she could not find the source of the voice. "This is officially worse than Niflheim." She muttered. The antlered monster who'd taken Thor was sitting on a large throne of bones. Felicity could see that it was in fact an elaborate headdress and that the monster was humanoid in appearance.

"You must be Hela." She said.

"Indeed." The goddess of death chuckled. "Don't bother waiting for your friends. I control who enters my realm and who gets to leave."

"And you my dear niece." A voice said from behind Felicity. "Are the guest of honor. We wouldn't want any uninvited guests to spoil our fun."


	24. Chapter 24

"Gamiel?" Felicity looked at the short man in front of her in surprise.

He nodded. Felicity raised an eyebrow and looked around. Gamiel's associates were terrifying. Hela was essentially death incarnate and she looked it. Vadrun and Amora cut impressive figures and even though Felicity didn't think much of them as people, she knew better than to underestimate them. But this little man was hardly threatening; in fact he looked like uncle Fester.

"That's what I said!" Peter shouted, Felicity turned to see him and Thor chained to a rock. "Hey Lissy!" Peter waved.

"You seem…cheerful?" Felicity looked at him in confusion.

"Not the first time I've been chained." Peter grimaced. "Though these circumstances promise to be a lot less fun." Thor rolled his eyes.

"My only complaints are about the company."

"Relax Thundercat, I'm sure Lis has a plan."

"SILENCE." Gamiel shouted.

"No." Peter glared. "Since you missed out on my teenage rebellion, I think this is long overdue. I'm not – mm hhhh mmmm" His mouth had been sealed shut by Amora.

"This one talks too much." She sighed.

Felicity looked at the group. She knew she needed to keep their attention away from Thor and Peter. Hela had been expecting her to enter through the Bifrost, but she probably wouldn't anticipate Loki's involvement. Felicity just had to stall until the others got here.

"Let them go." Felicity said.

"You're hardly in a position to be making demands, you insufferable – " Vadrun stopped as Gamiel gave him a look.

"My niece." He addressed Felicity. "We're going to have a simple conversation, then I'll let Peter go."

"A simple conversation?" Felicity glared. "The only reason I'm not in chains is because you're not stupid enough to try."

"There's no need for hostility.

"You have your own son in CHAINS." Felicity shouted. "You imprisoned my dad for 2 decades. He's DEAD because of you. You kidnapped Thor and HE" she pointed at Vadrun, "tried to marry me. How is this not a hostile situation?"

Gamiel glared. "I do not enjoy being defied."

"Get used to it because I don't like being ordered around." Felicity could see Thor smiling at her comment. She felt a rush of confidence and continued. "Let's make this simple, you let them go, and you turn yourselves over to face justice."

"Or else what?"

"The only reason you haven't tried to subdue me by now is because you can't and you need me in order to take control of the universe." Felicity smiled at Amora's irritated look. "So that makes me the most important person in this realm."

Gamiel gave her a calculating look. "Release my son." He told Hela.

The goddess of death raised an eyebrow. Gamiel glared and repeated, more forcefully. "Release. My. Son." Hela waved one of her hands and the chains which bound Peter fell from his wrists and melted into the rock face. Peter rushed over to stand with Felicity. "Consider this a show of good faith." Gamiel smiled. "After all, we are family."

"You're not my family." Peter said. Gamiel glared at the two of them.

"I may need you and Peter." He said quietly. "But I have no need of Thor." He motioned to Vadrun. The Vanir prince pulled a knife from his belt and went threw it at Thor. Felicity threw up a force field. The weapon bounced harmlessly off it.

"You hurt him and I'll bring this entire realm tumbling down on your heads." Felicity hissed. With a motion of her hand she swept Vadrun, Amora, and Gamiel aside and made her way to where Thor was chained.

"Don't move" She said and attempted to wrench the chains off, using her power.

"It won't work." Hela sounded bored. Felicity turned to see the goddess nonchalantly holding one of the skulls from her throne. "Those chains were forged of the same ore which created Mjolnir, they are impervious to all manner of magic and only obey me."

"Well then." Felicity turned and glared at her, her hands glowing blue. "I guess I just found my next target."

* * *

"Are we there yet?" Roy muttered.

"We'll get there when we get there." Loki said through gritted teeth.

"Never thought I'd hear the god of chaos parroting the words of every human dad on a road trip." Clint grinned.

"Does that make you the mom?" Natasha asked. Clint frowned.

"Consider your dessert privileges revoked."

"Can we please focus?" Oliver grumbled.

"Big talk coming from the guy who didn't see the necessity of this mission about 20 minutes ago." Clint said. Poking Loki in the back he added. "Red's got a point, how much longer?"

Loki sighed. "The means to enter Hela's realm is in my old chambers."

Hogun frowned. "How did you gain access to such an object?"

"Hela is my daughter." Loki said simply. Hogun laughed.

"Hela is older than you."

"True, time travel was involved." Loki looked at the angry and confused faces around him. "It would take too long to explain and I doubt your feeble minds could comprehend."

"How do we know he's not leading us into a trap?" Oliver hissed. Gamora lifted her sword and pointed it at Loki's throat.

"Perhaps we should give him some incentive to remain truthful." She suggested

Steve tightened his grip on his shield. "Ma'am, I like how that sounds."

Loki rolled his eyes. "There is no affection between Hela and I." he looked bored. "Some drivel about me never being there for her when she was growing up." They had arrived in front of a door. Clint pushed it open and they entered.

"My…my belongings have not been touch." Loki said incredulously.

"Frigga could not bring herself to have your chambers dismantled after your death; even less so after your betrayal." Hogun looked around the room. "So where is it?"

"Portal now." Clint poked Loki in the back. "Emotional crap later." Loki pointed to a simple black box on one of the bookshelves. Hogun went over and opened it.

"There's only a knife in here."

Loki snatched the knife and cut open his palm. Muttering a few words, he let the blood drip on the ground. A large hole began opening. A wave of heat followed by one of extreme cold rushed out as the hole grew larger.

"It will remain open until I close it." Loki said. "After you, Agent Barton."

"Not likely." Clint growled. He dragged Loki in with him and the others followed. The portal closed behind them. Oliver looked around, just in time to see Felicity attack a woman who was sitting on a throne of bones.

"Fel – " He started before Natasha put a hand over his mouth and dragged him behind a rock. Loki glared at him.

"Hela has complete control over Helheim, the only reason she hasn't sensed our arrival is because of the actions of Felicity." Loki looked admiringly as Felicity blasted Hela's throne to pieces. "Thor always did have good taste in bedwarmers." Natasha kicked him in between his legs.

"I'll take that." Clint grabbed the knife Loki had used to open the portal. Then he shoot an arrow which dropped a net, covering him.

"Is this really necessary?" Loki gasped in pain.

"It gives me emotional security." Clint said

He, Steve, Hogun, and Natasha began making their way towards where Thor was chained. Felicity was standing with her back to them. There were 3 people on the ground, ducking as Felicity's energy bursts flew over their heads. Peter was standing off to the side, unsure of what to do. Then the taller of the 2 men on the ground got up and charged Peter. They began fighting.

Roy went up to higher ground and began shooting arrows down at the blonde woman and bald man who were about to attack. Gamora pushed Peter out of the way.

"Draw your sword." She said to her opponent.

"I'll have you know." He smirked as he pulled out his sword. "That I'm considered the best swordsman in all of Vanaheim.

"Well then." Gamora smirked as she easily blocked his opening strike. "I fear for Vanaheim."

Oliver tried to shoot Hela, but his arrows couldn't get anywhere near her before they burnt up. Steve, Clint and Natasha had just made it to Thor. Steve held up his shield and attempted to break them. There was a loud bang and a shock wave knocked everyone off their feet.

* * *

Felicity was the first to regain her footing. She used Hela's momentary distraction to push her off the pedestal and slam her against the rock face. Gamora plunged her sword in Vadrun's side.

"Let. Thor. Go." Felicity hissed

"I believe you'll change your position." Everyone's attention turned to Gamiel. He'd picked up the knife that Vadrun had thrown at Thor. He was holding it to Peter's throat. "Tell your friends to surrender or I'll cut his throat."

Oliver shot him in the back with a tranquilizer arrow. He forward fell onto Peter; unconscious. Felicity gave him a small smile then turned back to Hela.

"Let. Thor. Go."

"You would dare command the goddess of death?" Hela said.

"Well you took orders from him." Felicity pointed to Gamiel "and he's drooling on the floor right now."

"He could also lay off the space burgers." Peter grunted as he pushed Gamiel's weight off.

Hela frowned. "You are a worthy opponent lady Felicity." She glared at Gamiel. "I do not enjoy being made a fool of. I will gain Valhalla one day. However, I will not stand on the shoulders of weaker men to do so. I refuse to be used –"

"Can you just get to the part where you free Thor and let us go?" Clint interrupted. Hela glared at him. "Please don't smite me."

"Just remember that if you don't let all of us go, Felicity will take this entire place down and we have an escape route." Natasha said.

"Lady Smoak, you and your friends are free to go. I will not presume to make an enemy of the individual who wields the power of the Tesseract." Hela waved her hand and the chains dissolved. "You and your companions are free to go. Death is patient, I can wait for Valhalla."

Thor made his way towards Felicity. "Not bad for a first rescue mission." He said as he leaned down. But before he could kiss her, he was pulled back and slammed against the rock.

"Where's the creepy blonde?" Clint asked. Felicity looked around, but Amora was nowhere to be seen.

"Amora?" She shouted. "Show yourself." A green glow surrounded Vadrun's sword and it began attacking Thor. Felicity cast another protective force field, but Amora had gotten a few strikes in. Thor grasped his side, which was bleeding.

"Heimdall." He shouted holding up his hand. A light pierced the darkness of Helheim and then Mjolnir flew down and landed in his hand. Lightning struck and Thor hit the ground causing vibrations which shook the ground under everyone's feet. Amora suddenly became visible. Thor began walking towards her when he faltered. "Poison." He gasped, then he collapsed.

"NO." Felicity shouted. She felt a huge rush of power, then the world went blue.

* * *

Thor looked on with a mixture of pain and fear as a blue glow incased Felicity. She was floating and suddenly a flash of blue light hit Amora straight in the chest. It lifted her off the ground. The Enchantress began shrieking.

"FELICITY." The Arrow shouted. "STOP."

"No." Felicity's voice was strangely magnified. She turned and Thor saw that her eyes were blue orbs, the same swirling color as the Tesseract. More blue streams hit Gamiel and Vadrun. They were lifted and dragged next to Amora. "My father is dead because of them."

"You can't kill them." Oliver shouted. "This isn't you. I won't let you –"

Thor knew it was the wrong thing to say even before Felicity interrupted.

"You won't LET ME?" The glow around her intensified. "You don't let me do anything. I am my own person, I control my own decisions. I don't need your permission."

"Felicity." Thor said. He stood, trying to ignore the growing pain in his side. The poison was making his wound burn. "You are allowing your anger to control your actions." He held out his hand. "I know you to be strong and capable, but also to be kind. The power of the Tesseract within you is reacting to your rage."

"They deserve punishment." Felicity hissed.

"And they will get it." Thor said. "But not this way, do not allow their cruel actions to turn you into the instrument of destruction they wanted to create." He looked watched as a look of uncertainty crossed her features. "I love you." He added. "Please, you are strong enough to endure this." He reached his hand out further, "please come back to me."

The blue light began dimming. Amora, Vadrun, and Gamiel were dropped to the ground. Felicity floated down and grabbed Thor's hand. He smiled, then doubled over in pain.

"Heimdall." Felicity shouted. The bifrost opened and they were all carried back to Asgard. As they exited Helheim, Hela's voice resonated behind them. "Until we meet again, young Celestial."

* * *

Felicity looked around as they came back to the Bifrost chamber.

"NICE LADY!" Hulk shouted.

Odin and Frigga helped Felicity bring Thor over to a stretcher. Then he was loaded onto an airboat and sent back to the palace.

"He will be alright child." Frigga put her arm around Felicity's shoulder. Felicity swayed. The overwhelming truth of what had transpired in the last couple of days hit her and she began shaking. Sif and Roy rushed over and hugged her.

"Sorry to interrupt." Clint said, "But what do we do about Dr. Evil, She-Ra and the sheriff of Nottingham?"

"He does look like the Sheriff of Nottingham. Nice observation, Robin hood." Tony smirked.

"Put them in the dungeons." Odin said. "We will try them at a later date." He turned to Devron's body. Kneeling down, he closed the Celestial's eyes. "I am sorry we could not meet again." He murmured. Looking up at Felicity's tear stained face he said. "He will be buried with honor, my child. We will ensure his soul safe passage to Valhalla."

Felicity looked away, then looked up at Sif. "I want to go home." She said as she turned towards the palace. Sif nodded and smiled. "You fought bravely. I'll take you back." She began leading Felicity over to an air boat. Roy followed with Volstagg bringing up the rear.


	25. Chapter 25

Oliver watched as Felicity left with Thor's friends and Roy. She'd wanted to go home and he knew she hadn't been talking about Starling. He hung his head and got onto one of the flying boats with Clint, Natasha, Steve, Hogun and Fandral. Then the prisoners, including Loki, were loaded on with them.

"There's no gratitude in this world." Loki sighed. "I'm being shipped back to the prison with the rest of the rabble."

"Remind me why we can't knock him out like the others?" Clint grumbled. He looked over the side of the moving airboat. "It would be so easy to push him over the side and make it look like an accident…how deep do you think that water is?"

Oliver shook his head and looked out towards the palace. He could feel Loki leering at him. He turned to give him a glare.

"I know how you feel." Loki said. Clint snorted.

"So he's a therapist now." Clint crossed his arms. "Well then, doctor, shall we examine the Freudian implications of that staff of yours?"

"I know how it feels to constantly come second to Thor." Loki continued. "You desire the lady Felicity. It is destroying you that no matter what you do you'll never be as worthy of her affections as my dear brother."

"All I want is for her to be happy." Oliver hissed.

"But you'd rather she were happy with you."

"Silence, Loki." Fandral grumbled. "Or I will take the archer's suggestion about throwing you overboard."

"I can help you get what you desire."

"Do you ever give up?" Natasha shook her head. "Because this is just getting sad."

"This imprisonment is only temporary and – " There was a clang as Steve raised his shield and knocked Loki unconscious. Everyone looked at him in surprise.

"He was getting on my nerves." Steve shrugged in response.

"I don't think I've ever felt as patriotic as I do in this moment." Clint grinned. "Way to take a walk on the wild side Cap."

Fandral glared at Oliver. "I take no stock in what Loki says; he's a known liar, but I warn you if you pose any threat to Thor and the Lady Felicity, I'll throw you in a cell with him."

"Like I said." Oliver gritted his teeth. "All I want is for her to be happy. As long as Thor does that… She's made her choice. I'm honoring it." Fandral's eyes narrowed, but he gave him a kurt nod and turned his attention back to watching over the prisoners.

* * *

"How is he?" Felicity rushed into Thor's room two days later. The healers had barred everyone from entering until now. She barged in before the healer could answer her. Thor was sitting up in bed; his chest covered in bandages. Frigga and Odin were with him.

"He's still mending." The frazzled healer said as Felicity threw her arms around him. Thor gave a slight grimace, but hugged her back.

"The poison took longer to heal than expected." He murmured. "But I'm alright now."

"He needs rest." The healer continued, looking pointedly at Felicity. "He will not be ready for any type of physical activity for at least another week."

Thor pouted and winced as he tried to move his shoulder to pull Felicity closer to him.

"I suspect the two of them have much to discuss." Frigga began ushering Odin and the healers out. Anticipating the protests she added, "As you have so wisely explained, Thor is unable to engage in physical activity. He is however fit enough to talk. I know the lady Felicity will not risk any damage to his health." She turned back to Felicity. "See that he gets his medication." She pointed to a bottle on the nightstand. "He'll try to convince you he doesn't need it; don't believe it." Then she and the others left.

"I'm not taking that." Thor wrinkled his nose in disgust at the medication.

"Oh yes you are." Felicity laughed as he turned to her with his best puppy eyes. She made a grab for the bottle, but Thor pulled her back.

"How are you?" He asked, caressing her face.

"You've been in critical condition for two days." Felicity murmured. "Shouldn't I be the one asking you that?"

"And the two days before that you had your soul ripped from your body and experienced a very traumatic event." Thor frowned. "My wounds are merely physical."

Felicity looked away. "My mom's here." She said finally. "Heimdall brought her after we came back from Helheim. We…had a very long and difficult talk." She bit her lip. "It was hard for her to forgive my dad. She'd spent so many years hating him. She didn't want to believe Peter and me when we told her he'd been…that…"

Thor pulled her close and kissed the top of her head.

"You're going to hurt yourself." Felicity muttered. Thor laughed.

"I assure you, my lady, that I've handled worse. You being safe is the best medicine."

"You really don't want to take that stuff." Felicity muttered.

"It is quite revolting." Thor glared at the bottle.

"Dad's funeral is tomorrow." Felicity said. "I just don't know how mom's going to deal with it."

"I will be there." Thor murmured. "Devron's last words were to protect you. Perhaps hearing this will ease the anger your mother fosters towards him and bring her comfort."

"I think Fandral's beaten you to the whole comforting thing." Felicity muttered.

Thor looked down at her in surprise. Felicity shuddered. "My mom was very…grateful."

"Oh no." Thor groaned. "Please tell me someone warned her."

Felicity smirked. "My mom knows his type. You should be more worried about who's going to warn him."

Thor chuckled. "I have learned that it does not do to cross a Smoak lady."

"Which is why you're taking the medicine." Felicity made another grab for the bottle, but Thor, in a surprising show of strength for someone who was supposed to be healing, pulled her back so she was sitting on his lap.

"I'm not taking that medication, because I don't need it." Thor growled.

"What?" Felicity looked at him in shock, then looked down at his bandages. Thor smirked and began unwinding the biggest one. His chest had barely any trace of the gaping wound she'd seen two days ago.

"You've been faking this whole time?" She hissed. Thor gave her an apologetic smile.

"Not entirely. I healed yesterday, but I was unsure as to how else to get us alone without a chaperone. I may have implied to the healers that the wounds were still causing me pain, even if they had closed. The medication was meant to ease that pain and close and internal wounds that may be left." He let her slid off his lap as he stood and removed the rest of the bandages. Felicity's angry retort died in her throat as she took in the sight of his bare torso. Thor grinned as she reached out a hand and began running her fingers where his wound had been.

"You're okay." She murmured.

"Yes." Thor gave a soft groan at her touch.

"Good." Felicity murmured. Then she punched him in the stomach.

"What?" Thor grabbed her hands so she couldn't hit him again. "I do not believe I deserved that."

"I. Thought. You. Were. DYING." Felicity shouted as she struggled against his grip.

"I'm alright." Thor pulled her close. "The goddess of death herself couldn't take me away from you."

"You're not allowed to do that again." Felicity murmured against his chest. "You can't die without my permission."

"As you command, my lady." Thor sighed as Felicity kissed his chest.

"Kiss me." She said

"Is that an order?" Thor raised an eyebrow.

"Kiss me." She demanded again. Thor bent down and pushed her high up on his bed. Looking down at her he smiled.

"So beautiful is the lady who commands the god of thunder." He murmured. Then lowered himself for a kiss.

* * *

Across the palace, Peter jerked away. Looking around in horror, he groaned. "Seriously?"

"What is it?" Sif murmured sleepily from the pillow next to him.

"Just be grateful you don't have a mind link." Peter shuddered. "I'm never sleeping again."

* * *

(AN: So this chapter is shorter, because there's a missing sex scene. I didn't want to change the rating here so I only put in on the version of the story I have over at AO3. If you want to read it, you can go over to the other site.)


	26. Chapter 26

"You owe me five dollars, Bruce."

Felicity groaned as she snuggled into Thor's side. "I hear Tony" She murmured. "Why do I hear Tony?"

"Stark." Thor growled. Felicity opened her eyes to see Tony grinning at the entrance of the room, while Steve and Bruce stood behind him; desperately trying to look anywhere but at the couple on the bed.

"What the hell?" Felicity ducked under the blankets while Thor glared at the group.

"We thought….the healers told us you weren't cleared for physical activity." Steve said "We'll come back later."

"No we won't." Tony grinned and sat on the edge of the bed, ignoring Thor's angry glare. "I come bearing joyous news."

"News that can wait until after my lady is clothed." Thor crossed his arms and frowned at him.

"GO AWAY." Felicity shouted from under the blanket.

"Nope." Tony smiled. "Bruce, Hamster dance and yours truly had a look at some Asgardian tech and we managed to incorporate it into our designs. Which means we can stop all Tesseract energy from being detected by outside sources." He grinned. "Also Digg and Lyla are getting married and the two of you are invited."

"I can go back to earth?" Felicity poked her head out from under the cover. Tony nodded.

"Yup and you won't accidentally cause an alien invasion when you do. Though from the look of things…" he picked up the torn dress from the night before. "Alien invasion seems to be something you're into." He smirked at Thor. "Someone was enthusiastic."

"Time to go." Steve said and he and Bruce grabbed Tony's arms and dragged him from the room as Thor reached out to summon Mjolnir.

"Wait." Tony shouted. "There are so many hammer jokes I can make."

"He's going to tell everyone." Felicity groaned. Thor looked away. "Hey." Felicity nuzzled his shoulder. "Why so sad?"

"Nothing." Thor gave her a tight smile. "It is good to know that you are able to return home."

Felicity sighed in frustration. "Do me a favor and smack yourself with a pillow."

"Why?"

"Because you are a moron." Felicity straddled Thor's lap and glared at him. "You think that I'm going to throw us away just because of Tony's machine?" she poked him in the chest. "I love you and while I am going to visit my friends on earth, I'm staying here…unless you don't want me to."

"Of course I do." Thor looked relieved. "I love you Felicity."

"Good because you're stuck with me…literally I can't move my muscles they're sore."

Thor laughed.

"It's your fault." Felicity huffed. Thor gave her a calculating look, then moved off the bed. Felicity wrapped her legs around him as he carried her out of the bedroom.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"The bath tub." Thor answered. "then couch in my receiving room, the table, the chair, followed by the bed again."

"Thor." Felicity moaned.

"Your muscles are sore." Thor grinned. "and this just happens to be the perfect way to warm them up."

* * *

"Looks like I'll be making some architectural changes to the tower." Tony smirked as he entered the room where the other Avengers and Guardians were eating breakfast. "Because if what I just saw is any indication, Thor and Felicity won't be needing separate rooms."

"Don't remind me." Peter grumbled, putting his head down on the table.

"How did you know?" Tony looked at him in surprise.

"Mind link. I don't recommend it." Peter shuddered. "Queen Frigga fixed it so I can only use it in emergency situations, but she couldn't erase the…images."

"Seeing as you subjected us to your loud Asgardian sexcapades I'd say it's payback." Rocket glared.

"The lady Sif seemed satisfied with the result." Drax muttered.

"I know, I heard it." Rocket growled.

"I am Groot."

"Chia pet's right, Rocket. You're jealous." Tony sat and picked up a piece of fruit.

"Did you tell Felicity about the shielding device?" Oliver asked quietly.

"Yeah, but I think she and Thor were too busy gearing up for round two."

"They passed round two a long time ago." Peter muttered, giving another shiver of disgust. Oliver glared at him.

"I wonder what the Asgardian refractory period is. Do you think Thor would let us observe….for science?" Tony asked.

"You've done enough observing." Steve frowned.

"People have sex, Cap; it happens all the time." Tony grinned.

"They don't tend to do it with an audience." Steve muttered

"Oh to be 95 and innocent." Tony smirked.

"Stop talking about this. I'm already going to need therapy." Peter grumbled. Rocket smirked at his obvious discomfort.

"I'm still changing their room, just in case." Tony ignored Peter.

"They're probably going to need a bigger bed." Clint smirked.

"A reinforced one." Rocket added

Peter stood up. "I'm going to go smash my head against a wall until the part of my brain that creates mental images is dead." He turned and glared at the assembled group. "And they do not need a bigger bed. They need separate ones; preferably in different quadrants of the galaxy."

* * *

Three days later Thor was glaring at his reflection in a mirror in Felicity's small Starling City apartment.

"This garb is uncomfortable." He huffed. "Why am I required to wear it?"

"You can suffer through one tuxedo." Felicity laughed. "Move over, I need to see how I look." She gave him a playful shove as she moved to stand in front of the mirror. Thor looked down at her dress.

"Not all midgardian clothing is unappealing." He murmured, putting his hands on her hips. "In fact…"

"No, bad Asgardian." Felicity smacked his hands. "After Digg's wedding you can do whatever you want."

"Now that is a tempting proposal. You have a bargain my lady." Thor smirked. "I promise to behave." Felicity beamed up at him. Then she looked down at his bow tie.

"What is that?" She pointed at the balled up knot he'd made.

"It is a bow tie." Thor said defensively. Felicity shook her head.

"No it's not…Maybe if you'd tied it correctly?"

"It is a very unique bow tie." He insisted. Felicity laughed.

"Sit." She pointed to her bed. Thor raised an eyebrow.

"I thought we were waiting until after the wedding?"

Felicity gave him another playful shove and he sat. "Imagine what the court of Asgard would think if they knew their prince was so easily defeated by a piece of cloth." She commented as she stepped in between his legs and tied the bow for him. "There, now you're presentable."

Thor pulled her close and buried his face in her stomach. "It is a particularly tricky piece of cloth." He mumbled, making Felicity giggle. "And this is a ridiculously small bed."

"It's queen size." Felicity retorted.

"It's not sized for my queen." Thor said sincerely as he looked her in the eyes.

"Your mom?" Felicity looked at him in confusion.

"I meant you." Thor pouted. "Please do not mention my mother when I am attempting to convince you to get out of that dress." He tugged gently on the zipper. "And into this pathetic excuse for a bed."

"mmm" Felicity moaned. "You almost had me…until you mocked my bed. Come on." She said, stepping back and tugging on his hand. "There's a wedding to attend."

* * *

The ceremony was heartfelt and lovely. Clint ended up saving the day after the man Lyla and Digg had chosen to officiate backed out due to a work conflict. When Digg had asked Clint how he'd become a minister, he'd shared a look with Natasha and muttered, "Budapest."

"Ladies and gentlemen." Tony grinned. "I'm going to need all those who identify as female or are just feeling pretty on one side of the dance floor and everyone else on the other."

"Oh no." Clint groaned.

"What?" Thor looked on in surprise at the eager way the assembled women seemed to flock to one side.

"The tossing of the bouquet and the garter." Tony grinned as he walked over. "Scared, Barton? I would be if I were you. Romanov has excellent hand eye coordination."

"Well Pepper has her war face on." Clint retorted. "I think we're in for an overblown, ridiculous display of Stark wealth long before Nat and I jump the broom."

Thor watched as Lyla stood with her back to the assembled women. She tossed her bouquet behind her. There was a scrambling as each of the women attempted to make a grab for it. The crowd cleared to reveal the flowers clutched in Felicity's hands. Clint and Tony relaxed.

"Tough break, buddy." Tony said as he patted Thor on the shoulder. "I'm going to go console Pepper."

"Whoever catches the bouquet is the next to get married." Steve explained when Thor raised an eyebrow. He grinned in response.

"Well then, I suppose I must honor Midgardian traditions."

Roy crossed his arms and glared at him. "I'm going to take this time to remind you that Digg has a very extensive gun collection and that he's willing to test it out on you if you break her heart."

"I would sooner turn Mjolnir on myself than cause her pain." Thor said sincerely. Roy nodded.

"Just so we're clear."

Digg tossed the garter and in the end, Dr. Banner was holding the piece of cloth; looking decidedly confused. Felicity walked over to Thor waving the bouquet.

"That is quite a lovely flower arrangement." Thor smiled.

"Why thank you." Felicity grinned. "I kinda just…caught it." She waved at Bruce who was being introduced to one of Digg's single cousins.

"Are the two of you bound for the altar together?" Thor joked. "Will I be required to fight him for your hand?"

"Nah" Felicity put the flowers down on the table behind him. She toyed with the ribbon tying them together. "Spoils of war."

"Lyla's cousin did seem very determined." Thor looked over at the group of women who were glaring at Felicity. "This is a valiant victory; deserving of a celebration."

"How about a dance?" Felicity grabbed his hands and pulled him towards the dancefloor.

"So how do Midgardian weddings compare to those on Asgard?" She asked as they were swaying to the music.

"They are more subdued." Thor replied.

"Don't let Tony hear you say that." Felicity looked over to where Stark was playing wingman to a very flustered Dr. Banner. "He might view it as a challenge."

"Royal weddings typically last for days." Thor continued. Felicity wrinkled her nose.

"That sounds like a long time to wear heels."

Thor laughed. "The couple doesn't typically stay very long…in fact it is tradition for the guests to conduct them to their bed chamber after the 1st course."

"Definitely don't tell Tony that."

"Don't tell Tony what?" Tony asked as he appeared next to them.

"Aren't you only summoned after a person says your name three times?" Felicity asked. "Because I'm pretty sure I only said it twice."

"Well as the official Avengers wedding planner, I'm going to need a heads up when the two of you decide to make a go for it." Tony grinned.

"Official Avengers Wedding planner?" Felicity stopped dancing and pressed her cheek against Thor's chest.

"That snafu with the officiator bailing out last minute would never have happened if the Diggles had put me in charge, as I had suggested."

"You mean if they had put Lady Pepper in charge." Thor corrected. Felicity smirked.

"Love is in the air." Tony continued, ignoring them. "There'll be more weddings soon, I guarantee it. In fact, I have three entire floors at the tower set aside for that specific purpose."

Thor looked down at Felicity and mouthed. "Subdued." She shook her head. Tony held out his hand.

"Official science buddy dance? It's a midgardian tradition. No earth wedding is complete without it."

Felicity stepped out of Thor's arms and let Tony cut in. Thor made his way over to the bar. He was about to order something when he noticed Queen standing off to the side, observing the wedding.

"The lady Thea appears in good spirits." Thor commented, coming to stand next to Oliver. Queen's younger sister was dancing with Roy. "As does the Lady Lance."

Oliver gave a nod. The League of Assassins had recently lifted their bounty on the head of Sara Lance's killer. While no one was sure why, Heimdall had privately informed Felicity and Thor that Sara Lance had been revived using a pool known as the Lazarus pit. The heir to the demon had decided to keep this resurrection secret from all in order to protect Sara from her father's wrath. Laurel Lance had returned to Starling and taken up the mantle of Black Canary. Oliver was not pleased, though Thor found it difficult to tell because the Arrow always seemed to be angry.

The two stood in silence, watching Tony twirling Felicity around the dance floor.

"Is she happy?" The question was so quiet that Thor almost missed it.

"Shouldn't you pose her that question?" Thor replied. Oliver tensed. Thor took pity on him. "I believe she is." He gave Felicity a smile as she looked over and mouthed "Rescue me."

Oliver nodded. "I guess that's what matters."

"If you'll excuse me, I believe I need to rescue my lady from her present predicament." Thor knew it was wrong, but he took a certain measure of pleasure in referring to Felicity as his in front of Oliver. He walked over to where Pepper was standing with Natasha.

"Lady Pepper." He gave a mock bow. "Would you do me the honor of a dance?"

"You just want to wind Tony up to get him away from Felicity." Pepper smirked. "Who knew the god of thunder had a dark side?"

"You forget I was raised with Loki." Thor grinned as Pepper handed Natasha her champagne glass and followed him out to the dance floor. In two seconds, Tony had dragged Felicity over to them.

"Okay, Son of Odin. I propose a hostage exchange. You give me mine and I'll give you yours."

"Tony." Pepper admonished while Felicity snorted.

"Why do we put up with them?" Pepper asked.

"I ask myself the same thing every day." Felicity smirked and offered Pepper her arm. "Lady Pepper?"

"Lady Felicity." The two walked away to talk with Natasha, leaving Thor and Tony to stand awkwardly in the middle of the dance floor.

"There go our better halves." Tony sighed. "What do you think they're talking about?" Clint, who'd just walked over to join them, smirked at the question.

"Well Nat's promised me safe haven in the new world order so I'm not concerned." Clint said as he took a sip of champagne. "Can you say the same?"

"Just be grateful Gamora and Lady Sif were not invited." Thor murmured.

"Well Steve wanted to bring Gamora, but figured the green skin would draw too much attention." Tony's comment caused Clint to choke on his champagne.

"We…are so doomed."

* * *

"That was fun." Felicity was beaming when they made their way back to her apartment. She turned back to look at him. "What's wrong?"

"By now the news of our night together will have made it to the ears of everyone at court." Thor shifted. "That coupled with our sudden unchaperoned vacation here…" he trailed off.

"You're worried they're going to force us to get married." Felicity tilted her head. "How about an extended engagement?"

"Are you asking me to marry you?" Thor chuckled.

"Eventually." Felicity opened the door. "Not right this second, though."

"An "extended engagement" might appease the more strict members of the court." Thor agreed. "It is a more official title than simple consort."

"Just one thing." Felicity said as she stepped out of her shoes. "When you ask me properly, I don't want something big and showy."

Thor grinned. He'd already had the goldsmith make the traditional betrothal bracelets. He'd planned on presenting her with hers during an afternoon outing with the horses. That way they could be alone. In addition he'd had the runes of her name carved on the breastplate of his armor.

"As my lady commands." Thor said as he swept Felicity into his arms. "Now, I wish to test the strength of that cot you call a bed."


	27. Chapter 27

The return to Asgard marked the return of the etiquette police. However Felicity quickly gave the court something better to talk about. The announcement of the betrothal caused anger among the courtiers who did not agree with the concept of a Midgardian Queen. With the threat of Gamiel no longer hanging over her head, Felicity was free to reveal her Celestial roots and the full range of her powers. Which she did…in open court. Very few people opposed her afterwards.

Two days after they got back, Heimdall informed Felicity that Sara was in trouble. The Lazarus Pit had caused a messy resurrection. Sara had been dead for so long, that she had gaps and often didn't recognize other people or herself; which made her dangerous. Felicity got permission from Frigga to bring her to Asgard, along with Nyssa to help Sara heal and regain what she'd lost. Frigga took the opportunity to give Felicity lessons on Asgardian healing techniques. A skill she insisted was necessary for any future queen, but Felicity suspected it had more to do with Nyssa's unwillingness to leave Sara's side and to be without her weapons. Nyssa trusted Felicity, but she was wary of the Asgardian healers.

"Shouldn't Felicity be training with you?" Thor asked one morning as he watched Sif spar with Nyssa 7 months after her and Sara's arrival to Asgard.

"She's not feeling well." Sif said.

"She barely finished her morning meal." Nyssa added. "It's the 3rd time this week."

Thor glared at her. "Why did she not tell me?"

"The sickness passed each of the previous times and she thought it unnecessary to worry you." Nyssa shrugged. "Sara is with her."

Thor took off towards Felicity's rooms. Sif and Nyssa stopped sparring to watch, smirking. Fandral walked over.

"Do you believe he knows?"

"Truthfully," Nyssa said. "I do not believe Felicity is aware of her present condition." She smirked. "Though it should hardly come as a surprise; they have been spending many nights together."

"Are you and the Lady Sara wavering in your duties as chaperones?" Fandral gave a mock gasp. Nyssa and Sara had been given a place to stay in Felicity's chambers. Felicity's presence often gave Sara stability when she had an episode.

"Sara and I have better things to do then attempt to keep a god from his beloved." Nyssa retorted.

"Felicity" Thor banged open the door to Felicity's room She was lying down with her head on Sara's lap.

"My Lady, Sif informed me that you are unwell." He sat on the bed next to them. Sara frowned at him.

"I'll be fine. I'm just a little nauseas." Felicity mumbled.

"I'm going to take you to my mother." Thor said.

"No." Felicity groaned. "That involves moving."

"No objections. Nyssa informed me this is the third time this has happened." Thor stood and made to pick up Felicity. Sara tensed.

"Can't I just lie here? It'll pass in a few minutes." Felicity closed her eyes and shuddered as another wave of nausea hit her. Thor stood next to the bed, unsure what to do. On the one hand Felicity needed a healer, but he didn't want to leave her side. He looked at Sara.

"Lady Lance, could you perhaps go and get a healer?" He asked. Sara exhaled angrily. Felicity gave her arm a reassuring squeeze. Sara looked down at her for a few seconds, then nodded and got up.

"No funny business, Thunderpants. She's in no condition for your hammer tricks." Sara muttered as she left.

Thor took Sara's place on Felicity's bed and gently pulled her onto his lap. Stroking her hair, he asked. "What is wrong?"

Felicity wrinkled her nose. "I've got a theory, but I'm waiting for confirmation."

They waited. About 15 minutes later Frigga came in followed by Sara, Hogun, Nyssa, Fandral, Sif, and Volstagg.

"Is this entourage necessary?" Thor grumbled.

"It is of the utmost importance." Fandral said. "I have a large amount of gold pieces in the balance."

"All of you wait outside." Frigga chuckled. "You as well Thor."

Thor gave Felicity a kiss and got up, pushing everyone out.

"Would you like to join the betting pool?" Fandral asked.

"And what exactly are you betting on?" Thor growled.

"Felicity is pregnant." Nyssa said.

"I don't think she is." Sara said quietly.

"Which is why you will lose." Fandral grinned

"She's too smart to not have taken precautions." Sara insisted.

Thor paled.

"His face says it all." Fandral said triumphantly.

"It's called birth control." Sara rolled her eyes. "She's on the pill."

"Then explain the morning sickness." Nyssa said. Thor sat heavily down on one of the couches.

"Easy. You'll notice that each time she's had stomach problems coincided with her eating a specific soup for dinner." Sara smirked. "Simple food poisoning."

Fandral snorted. Thor put his head in his hands. "How could I have been so foolish?"

"You're a man?" Sif supplied.

"Because I'm sure that you were so careful with Starlord in your romps." Fandral said.

Sif gave him a look. Fandral coughed, embarrassed.

The door opened and Frigga came out. Thor jumped to his feet. "Is she alright?"

Frigga gave her son an affectionate smile. "The lady Felicity will be fine. She simply needs to avoid the turtle soup."

"TURTLE…" everyone heard Felicity shriek. "THAT'S what's in it?" There was a retching noise. Frigga closed the door to give her some privacy.

"She…is not with child?" Fandral asked. Frigga shook her head.

Sara grinned triumphantly. "I expect full payment by dinner time."

Fandral groaned.

"There will be no more gambling on my lady's pregnancy status." Thor glared. "You will pay the lady Sara in full."

Fandral nodded. Everyone filed out, except Frigga.

"Had she been pregnant, you would have been forced to wed." She murmured so Felicity wouldn't hear.

"I wished to have been married for some time before we broached the subject of children." Thor whispered back.

"Might I suggest you talk to her about this wish?" Frigga looked at the door.

Thor nodded and entered the room. Giving Felicity a smile he said; "you just lost Fandral a lot of money."

"Turtle…" Felicity groaned. "Why didn't you warn me?"

"I believe it is a dish consumed on Midgard as well." Thor chuckled.

"Not by me." Felicity sat up, then groaned and lay back down. "Ooo, I'm dizzy."

"Our friends believed you to be with child." Thor said as he sat next to her and pulled her onto his lap.

"Hmm" Felicity hummed as Thor began stroking her back. "Let me guess; if I was, we'd have to get married yesterday."

"Essentially." Thor chuckled.

"I thought I was…for about 3 seconds." Felicity murmured. "Our kids would be cute."

"They will be more than…cute." Thor said, "They will be mighty."

"Someone's being extremely optimistic with that future tense." Felicity said, nuzzling his thigh. "I don't think I'm ready to be a mom, just yet."

"And I confess that I am not ready to share you just yet." Thor muttered.

Felicity raised an eyebrow. "Selfish much?"

"Royally selfish." Thor grinned. Felicity shook her head.

"How long before the decency police start beating down the door?" She asked.

"I give it another 20 minutes." Thor said.

Felicity scowled. "I'm sick of having to sneak around."

"As am I." Thor sighed. "The court's stringent adherence to the moral code is…frustrating."

Felicity giggled. "Frustrating?"

"Immensely." Thor leaned down and kissed her forehead. "Behave, you are ill." Then he smirked. "Perhaps you require something to settle your stomach…some soup?"

"No." Felicity groaned. "You are the worst fiancé ever."

"True" Thor gave her an innocent look. "And I aspire to one day become the worst husband."

Felicity closed her eyes and for a moment, Thor thought she'd gone to sleep. Then she looked up at him. "How long does it take…to plan a royal wedding?"

Thor felt his heart leap in excitement. "Around 8 months…" He said.

"Well then, I guess we should start planning the guest list. I've decided to marry you."

Thor gaped at her. Felicity scrutinized his face.

"Unless you don't want –"

Thunder roared and lightening flashed. Thor's smile was blinding.

"Is this…a good thunderstorm?" Felicity asked.

"For you my lady? Always." Thor grinned as Fandral and Volstagg burst in the door to break apart any indecent behavior.

* * *

"Tony" Steve hissed. "Are you seriously taking NOTES right now?"

They were in the lavishly decorated banquet hall in the Asgardian palace. Felicity and Thor were dancing together as guests from the different realms went up to offer their congratulations.

"I'm doing recognizance." Tony waved his hand dismissively. "I'm going to top this wedding if it's the last thing I do."

Pepper and Steve shared a look of exasperation as Gamora laughed.

"I have seen many different wedding ceremonies all across the galaxy." Gamora said. "This tops them all." Then she gave him a confused look. "Did Felicity not say that her Terran celebration of matrimony was to be kept small?"

"Her exact words," Peter and Sif wandered over to their table, "were 'Tony, if you give us a ceremony of Gatsby proportions we're going to Vegas and having my uncle Jerry officiate in his Elvis costume and you won't be invited." Peter said in falsetto. "Jerry…isn't actually her uncle." He added.

"COSTUMES!" Tony said excitedly, scribbling away. "I'm going to need costumes and fireworks. The whole people coming back to life thing is going to be hard to top." He said looking over at Sara who was dancing with Nyssa. "But I think I can manage."

"Did you hear anything he just said?" Sif asked.

"This isn't for their earth ceremony." Tony waved dismissively in Thor and Felicity's direction. "They can have the boring snooze fest they requested, this is for me and Pepper."

Pepper choked on her wine. "Did you just…?" She looked at him in shock then smacked him on the back of the head.

"Ow" Tony pouted.

"YOU CALL THAT A PROPOSAL?"

"We'll leave you alone." Steve said, holding his hand out to Gamora. "Quill?" he asked.

"Are you kidding?" Peter grinned as he watched Tony and Pepper begin shouting at each other. "This is great!"

"Enjoying yourself?" Thor's breath caught as Felicity looked up to give him a radiant smile.

"Mmhm." She said, leaning against him. "How long do we have to keep this on?" She held up her left wrist. It was bound to his right wrist, trapping their hands together. It was an Asgardian wedding tradition. "I'm not sure how to untie it?" She examined it. "There's no clasps or…" Thor laughed

"What?" She pouted.

"You are adorable when you're trying to solve a problem." Thor chuckled. "It is enchanted, my lady. It will not come off until the marriage is consummated."

"Are there a specific number of times it has to be consummated before…" Felicity trailed off as Thor stopped dancing. "It just seems to be the type of thing we should be investigating." She flashed him an innocent smile. "For science."

Thor grinned. Reaching out, he summoned Mjolnir. "Hold tight." He tucked her underneath his arm. Swinging Mjolnir over his head, he crashed thought the window and flew them both out. Felicity clung to him screaming.

"CRAZY, INSANE SHOW OFF." She shouted when Thor landed them into his, now their, chambers. But her words had no sting because she was laughing too hard. Thor dropped Mjolnir and kissed her, silencing any further outbursts.

"Your crazy, insane, show off." He said, picking her up and pressing his forehead against hers. "Now, if there are no more objections, I'd like to remove this binding." Felicity gave him another smile.

"No objections what so ever."

* * *

There was a flash of lightning and a rumble of thunder shook the banquet hall. Tony and Pepper paused their argument as they and the other guests turned to look at the windows. There was an awkward lull in the music as everyone pretended not to know the cause of the disturbance.

"Is that…normal?" Roy asked as more lightning flashed across the sky.

"Not usually." Fandral said.

"I guess Thor's putting his lightening rod to good use." Clint smirked as everyone groaned.

Peter put his head down on the table. "Sif, hand me some of that thousand year old ale you said humans couldn't handle." He glared at the windows and shuddered. "I've got some memories to suppress."


End file.
